GE Aerospace has received a US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) contract to develop an air-launched hypersonic test vehicle capable of reaching Mach 5.
The liquid-fueled vehicle, known as Derecho, will combine a rocket booster with a cruiser powered by GE Aerospace’s dual-mode ramjet technology. The complete vehicle will serve as a test platform for the Pentagon’s Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities (HyCAT) program.
GE Aerospace said the latest contract will fund full integration of the vehicle and the first qualification and component-level tests of key subsystems. The company did not disclose the contract’s value.
“Acceleration in this type of hypersonic testing are critical to advancing next-generation capabilities at speed and scale,” Steve “Doogie” Russell, Vice President and General Manager of Edison Works at GE Aerospace, said in a statement.
“This work with DIU builds on years of investment and progress, and we are proud to help deliver a flexible, responsive test solution to support national defense priorities,” Russell added.
The company is targeting the first flight of Derecho in 2028. The test vehicle would provide GE Aerospace with its first opportunity to demonstrate its liquid-fueled dual-mode ramjet technology in flight.
A dual-mode ramjet can operate as both a conventional ramjet and a scramjet, allowing it to function across a broader range of supersonic and hypersonic speeds. The engine uses atmospheric oxygen for combustion instead of carrying its own oxidizer, potentially allowing a vehicle to carry more fuel or payload.
GE Aerospace began working on the HyCAT project in 2023 through Innoveering, a company it acquired in 2022. DIU initially selected Innoveering to develop an affordable, air-launched and air-breathing hypersonic test bed with support from Specter Aerospace and Starfighters International.
The project advanced through subsystem refinement and evaluation in 2024 before reaching a preliminary design review of the all-up-round vehicle in 2025.
Derecho’s initial configuration will not incorporate the rotating detonation combustion system GE Aerospace has been developing for future hypersonic engines. The technology could be added to later versions of the test platform.
In September 2025, GE Aerospace completed flight tests of a solid-fuel ramjet aboard an F-104 operated by Starfighters Aerospace. The tests were conducted under the Pentagon-funded Atmospheric Test of Launched Airbreathing System program.
GE Aerospace and Lockheed Martin subsequently completed ground tests of a liquid-fueled rotating detonation ramjet in January 2026. The companies said the technology could enable hypersonic missiles to fly farther while carrying additional fuel or payload.
The HyCAT program is intended to increase the frequency and reduce the cost of hypersonic flight testing. The initiative supports the development of test vehicles capable of carrying experimental propulsion systems, sensors, communications equipment and guidance technologies at hypersonic speeds.