A Leidos-led (NYSE: LDOS) industry team has successfully completed two reusable/recoverable innovative hypersonic solution tests for the Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program—the MACH-TB program is designed to increase the speed of testing using commercially available hypersonic launch systems.
The MACH-TB contract was awarded to Leidos by Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane through the Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems Other Transaction Authority vehicle on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center.
Being able to complete these large-scale launches shows how our team is helping the customer move faster by using commercial capabilities,” said Mike Maughan, Aerospace Systems Lead for Leidos. “We want to be consistently and rapidly testing these systems, and our teams have really dedicated themselves to mission efficiency.”
George Rumford, Director of the TRMC, said, “The reuse of fully recoverable hypersonic test vehicles is an important milestone for MACH-TB. Lessons learned from this test campaign will help us reduce vehicle turnaround time from months down to weeks.”
About Leidos
Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 48,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025.
In related news, the U.S. Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), in partnership with Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane), conducted a second successful flight of a fully recoverable uncrewed hypersonic test vehicle in March of 2025, within three months of the first test in December of 2024. This test campaign marks the Nation’s first return to reusable hypersonic flight testing since the manned X-15 program ended in 1968.
In both tests, the Stratolaunch Talon-A hypersonic vehicle launched from the Roc carrier aircraft, flew over the Pacific Ocean and achieved speeds greater than Mach 5 before landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The landmark tests supported the ongoing TRMC Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) project.
MACH-TB accelerates delivery of advanced hypersonic capabilities to the warfighter by providing DoD, other Federal agencies, industry, and academia the capability to affordably and rapidly conduct hypersonic experiments and test hypersonic system components.
NSWC Crane awarded the MACH-TB contract to Leidos through the Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) vehicle on behalf of the TRMC. As the prime contractor for MACH-TB, Leidos awarded Stratolaunch, LLC, a competitive contract to provide flight test services for the program.
About TRMC
The U.S. Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) is a DoD Field Activity that reports directly to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The mission of the TRMC is to ensure the readiness of DoD to experiment and test.
