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Cummings Aerospace unveils Hellhound turbojet-powered loitering munition

By Andrew White |

The Cummings Hellhound S3. (Cummings Aerospace)

Cummings Aerospace has unveiled a 3D-printed, turbojet-powered loitering munition, which the company calls the Hellhound S3.

CEO Sheila Cummings confirmed to Janes on 29 January that the craft had completed flight tests in the last week of January, reaching a top speed of 384 mph (618 km/h) to provide a “sprint to loiter” capability.

Flight tests at the Pendleton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) Range in Oregon, conducted between 22 and 25 January, focused on speed and range testing; seeker integration; and inert payload testing in “very low temperatures, high winds, and snow”, a company statement said.

“With the turbojet propulsion, you have the ability to throttle the engine so you can slow down and take more time to get to your target, or you can fly faster to get there quickly and loiter, select your target, and then engage,” Cummings said .

The company is working on a vertical-landing capability, which would enable safe recovery of the air vehicle and non-kinetic payloads.

Currently at Technology Readiness Level 7, Hellhound is a manportable, vertical take-off/launch, fixed-wing loitering munition, pitched as a more affordable solution to current UASs.

According to Cummings, the all-up Hellhound round weighs less than 25 lb (11.3 kg) and is capable of being carried, launched, and operated by a single soldier.

Cummings illustrated potential concepts of operations for Hellhound, including a single example flying at high speed to an area 50 km distant. Once on station, Hellhound could loiter between five and 10 minutes, she said.

The air vehicle is warhead and payload agnostic, and the company plans to integrate a variety of munitions (including proximity and explosively formed projectile rounds) and sensors in the coming months.

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