{"id":13265058,"date":"2026-08-17T16:32:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T16:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:33:15","slug":"darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"DARPA Wants a Revolutionary Hypersonic Missile"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<p>America already has hypersonic missiles on the way. DARPA has just told industry that &ldquo;on the way&rdquo; is not good enough.<\/p>\r\n<p>On 7 August 2026, the Pentagon&rsquo;s far-out research agency released a notice for a possible new program &mdash; the Next-Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile &mdash; asking industry for ideas that would leapfrog, not inch past, the weapons currently entering production. The word DARPA keeps using is not &ldquo;improve.&rdquo; It is &ldquo;revolutionary.&rdquo;<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px;border-radius:8px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:18px\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.8\"><li><strong>What:<\/strong> a DARPA notice seeking a Next-Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile demonstrator<\/li><li><strong>Released:<\/strong> 7 August 2026<\/li><li><strong>Goal:<\/strong> a &ldquo;revolutionary leap&rdquo; in range, cruise speed and\/or altitude<\/li><li><strong>Type:<\/strong> air-breathing scramjet (sustained flight above Mach 5), not a boost-glide vehicle<\/li><li><strong>Also wanted:<\/strong> better midcourse maneuvering and lower signature to beat air defenses<\/li><li><strong>Today&rsquo;s equivalent:<\/strong> the Air Force&rsquo;s HACM, heading for production in 2027<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Incremental isn&rsquo;t enough<\/h2>\r\n<p>DARPA is blunt about the state of the art. Past demonstrators, it says, proved the physics but delivered only &ldquo;predictable, incremental gains&rdquo; while staying expensive and hard to mass-produce. This time the agency wants a &ldquo;quantum leap&rdquo; driven by &ldquo;high-risk, high-reward technologies&rdquo; &mdash; without saying which ones.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=741540948  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:zz7b.cd25\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/f-15e-strike-eagle-hacm.jpg\" alt=\"An F-15E Strike Eagle takes off\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The F-15E Strike Eagle is set to be the first aircraft to field the Air Force&rsquo;s HACM hypersonic missile. US Air Force photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Air-breathing vs boost-glide<\/h2>\r\n<p>The missile DARPA wants is a scramjet weapon: it breathes air to sustain flight above Mach 5, unlike &ldquo;boost-glide&rdquo; arms that ride a rocket up and then coast to the target. Air-breathers are more efficient and can be smaller, which means more aircraft can carry them &mdash; DARPA even wants variants ranging from ones a fighter can hang under a wing to pallet-dropped and bomber-only types.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8zlwGxUul6E\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;This demonstrator must establish the foundation for a next-generation capability that delivers a revolutionary leap in operational performance&mdash;specifically in range, cruise speed, and\/or altitude.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>DARPA<\/strong> &mdash; Next-Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile solicitation notice<\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">From the X-51 to what comes next<\/h2>\r\n<p>None of this is starting from zero. DARPA&rsquo;s X-51 Waverider proved sustained scramjet flight over a decade ago, slung under the wing of a <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-52-stratofortress\/\">B-52<\/a>; its lessons fed the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-15e-strike-eagle\/\">F-15E Strike Eagle<\/a>-launched HACM now nearing production. The new notice is DARPA asking what the generation after that should look like &mdash; and betting that the honest answer is nothing like today&rsquo;s.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px;margin-top:24px\">Sources: DARPA solicitation notice (7 Aug 2026, via SAM.gov); Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine. Program figures per USAF 2027 budget documents.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/lockheed-next-generation-hypersonic-glide-body-2026\/\">Lockheed Accelerates Its Hypersonic Glide Body<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/mcdonnell-douglas-boeing-f-15-eagle-deep-dive\/\">The F-15 Eagle: A Deep Dive Into an Undefeated Fighter<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America already has hypersonic missiles on the way. DARPA has just told industry that &ldquo;on the way&rdquo; is not good enough. On 7 August 2026, the Pentagon&rsquo;s far-out research agency released a notice for a possible new program &mdash; the Next-Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile &mdash; asking industry for ideas that would leapfrog, not inch past, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":13264846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13265058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>DARPA Seeks Next-Gen Hypersonic Cruise Missile<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"DARPA wants a next-generation hypersonic cruise missile delivering a revolutionary leap in range, speed and altitude, beyond the scramjet HACM entering production.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DARPA Seeks Next-Gen Hypersonic Cruise Missile\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DARPA wants a next-generation hypersonic cruise missile delivering a revolutionary leap in range, speed and altitude, beyond the scramjet HACM entering production.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T14:32:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T14:33:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:zz7b.cd25\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"914\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/da89e4a5834c9a932ee20751ed75569c\"},\"headline\":\"DARPA Wants a Revolutionary Hypersonic Missile\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-17T14:32:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T14:33:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":449,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Military Aviation\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"DARPA Seeks Next-Gen Hypersonic Cruise Missile\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-17T14:32:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T14:33:15+00:00\",\"description\":\"DARPA wants a next-generation hypersonic cruise missile delivering a revolutionary leap in range, speed and altitude, beyond the scramjet HACM entering production.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":914,\"caption\":\"The X-51A Waverider, shown here under the wing of a B-52 Stratobomber is set to demonstrate hypersonic flight. Powered by a Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet engine, it is designed to ride on its own shockwavem and accelerate to about Mach 6. (U.S. Air Force graphic)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"DARPA Wants a Revolutionary Hypersonic Missile\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/da89e4a5834c9a932ee20751ed75569c\",\"name\":\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald\"},\"description\":\"Max Gr\u00fcnwald writes MiGFlug\u2019s technical deep-dives \u2014 engines, avionics and weapons systems, with every number checked twice.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/author\\\/maxgruenwald\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DARPA Seeks Next-Gen Hypersonic Cruise Missile","description":"DARPA wants a next-generation hypersonic cruise missile delivering a revolutionary leap in range, speed and altitude, beyond the scramjet HACM entering production.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"DARPA Seeks Next-Gen Hypersonic Cruise Missile","og_description":"DARPA wants a next-generation hypersonic cruise missile delivering a revolutionary leap in range, speed and altitude, beyond the scramjet HACM entering production.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-08-17T14:32:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-17T14:33:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":914,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:zz7b.cd25\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/da89e4a5834c9a932ee20751ed75569c"},"headline":"DARPA Wants a Revolutionary Hypersonic Missile","datePublished":"2026-08-17T14:32:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-17T14:33:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/"},"wordCount":449,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:zz7b.cd25\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg","articleSection":["Military Aviation","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/","name":"DARPA Seeks Next-Gen Hypersonic Cruise Missile","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:zz7b.cd25\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-17T14:32:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-17T14:33:15+00:00","description":"DARPA wants a next-generation hypersonic cruise missile delivering a revolutionary leap in range, speed and altitude, beyond the scramjet HACM entering production.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:zz7b.cd25\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:zz7b.cd25\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/x-51a-waverider-hypersonic-b-52.jpg","width":1280,"height":914,"caption":"The X-51A Waverider, shown here under the wing of a B-52 Stratobomber is set to demonstrate hypersonic flight. Powered by a Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet engine, it is designed to ride on its own shockwavem and accelerate to about Mach 6. (U.S. Air Force graphic)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/darpa-next-generation-hypersonic-cruise-missile-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"DARPA Wants a Revolutionary Hypersonic Missile"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","description":"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/da89e4a5834c9a932ee20751ed75569c","name":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a7af37924a5c24d0712babd0e5eafec09d37b3a41831dd4c4ee30f54ebfc1a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald"},"description":"Max Gr\u00fcnwald writes MiGFlug\u2019s technical deep-dives \u2014 engines, avionics and weapons systems, with every number checked twice.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/author\/maxgruenwald\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13265058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13265058"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13265058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13265253,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13265058\/revisions\/13265253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13264846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13265058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13265058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13265058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}