Hypersonica German-British defense company, has successfully completed the test flight of the first privately developed hypersonic missile in Europe. The prototype surpassed Mach 6 (7,350 km/h) during a test carried out on February 3 at Andøya Space, in northern Norway. It traveled more than 300 kilometers and functioned normally throughout the ascent and descent.
The company assures that the flight has validated system performance down to the subcomponent level at hypersonic speeds and has provided data sets that will guide the further development of maneuverability and flight control technologies. The startup sets itself as a goal the operational deployment of a sovereign European hypersonic strike capability by 2029in line with the plans and programs of the NATO and of United Kingdom to have this type of capabilities towards 2030.
‘Hypersonica has reached an important milestone in our roadmap to develop Europe’s first sovereign hypersonic strike capability by 2029,’ the co-founders said in a joint statement. Philipp Kerth and Marc Ewenz.
According to Defense Industry Europe, the company completed in nine months the entire cycle of design, integration, regulatory authorizations and launch preparation; a pace that, in his opinion, demonstrates a different approach to defense development deadlines. The startup, founded in December 2023 near Munich, has around 50 employees and a subsidiary in London.
The company maintains that its modular missile architecture allows development cycles measured in months, rather than yearsand that could reduce costs by more than one 80% compared to conventional defense programs. Hypersonica has also indicated that the test flight generated ‘invaluable data sets that will guide the design and development of future high-speed attack systems and will improve our ability to analyze adversary weapons profiles‘.
A missile is considered hypersonic when it can fly at more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5 or 6,125 km/h) and, at the same time, maintain maneuverability within the atmosphere. These speeds generate considerable thermal stress, so Materials engineering and flight control stability are two of the great technological challenges.
A 2023 report from the US Congressional Budget Officecited by Defense News, pointed out that hypersonic missiles could cost about a third more than ballistic missiles of similar range equipped with warheads capable of maneuvering in the terminal phase, reflecting the budgetary pressure associated with these programs.
The test coincides with the increase in defense spending in Europe and the acceleration of research into advanced weapons, in response to Russia’s deployment of its Oreshnik hypersonic missile systemwhich Moscow has used in attacks against Ukraine from the end of 2024. Russia maintains that it can carry conventional or nuclear warheads and that it reaches a range of up to 5,500 kilometers.
In parallel, European programs are focusing on both offensive hypersonic capabilities and technologies to detect and intercept them. The 2026 work program of the European Defense Fund includes 168 million euros for countermeasures and interceptors against hypersonic threatswithin the framework of the objective of gaining technological autonomy.
Data of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institutecited by Euronews, indicate that European dependence on defense imports from the US has grown strongly in recent yearswhich reinforces calls to prioritize sovereign purchases and own industrial programs.
Hypersonica’s founders maintain that their private financing model aims Offer European governments a faster, cheaper route to deploy advanced attack systems. ‘As a privately funded startup, getting from design to launch pad in just nine months should recalibrate expectations about the cost and time required to develop this crucial capability,’ says the company, adding that it will conduct further test flights to demonstrate advanced maneuverability and operational performance at hypersonic speeds.