Stratolaunch announced it has been awarded a $24.7M million competitive agreement by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to support national defense objectives through a groundbreaking hypersonic flight test mission.

The project will leverage modifications to Stratolaunch's Spirit of Mojave 747 launch platform to expand Talon-A flight capabilities beyond the US western coast to a variety of global locations. The test campaign portion of the project, targeted to occur in the fourth quarter of 2025, will demonstrate critical capabilities for testing advanced missile defense systems against the growing global threat posed by hypersonic weapons.

The agreement awarded under the MDA Innovation, Science & Technology Broad Agency Announcement (HQ0860-23-S-0001), is fully funded with fiscal year 2024 research, development, test, and evaluation funds. The Spirit of Mojave 747 modification work will primarily occur at Stratolaunch’s headquarters in Mojave, California. 

Stratolaunch's mission is to advance high-speed technology through innovative design, manufacturing, and operation of world-class aerospace vehicles.