The British-German aerospace startup Nightfall has conducted the first test of a hypersonic missile that reached Mach 6 and traveled more than 300 kilometers, Hypersonica, the production company says.
In January, London stated that such missiles could “boost Ukraine’s firepower to defend itself from Putin’s war machine.”
The launch took place at Andøya Spaceport in Norway. During the test, the missile accelerated to more than 7,400 kilometers per hour.
Mach 6 and 300 kilometers: Europe reaches sovereign hypersonic milestone
The company Hypersonica said all missile systems operated normally throughout the entire flight, from ascent to atmospheric reentry.
Hypersonica has reached a major milestone on our path toward developing Europe’s first sovereign hypersonic strike system by 2029, said company co-founders Dr. Philip Kurth and Dr. Marc Events.
According to them, the test flight provided critical data for developing future high-speed strike systems and analyzing hostile weapons profiles.
From concept to launch in 9 months
Hypersonica emphasized that the entire process from development to launch took only nine months.
The company says the missile’s modular architecture allows rapid upgrades and reduces development costs by more than 80% compared to traditional defense programs.
The startup openly states that this approach could reshape Europe’s understanding of the cost and speed of developing modern missile systems.
For comparison, the US operates hypersonic programs where a single launch can cost up to $40 million, while overall development programs have required billions of dollars and decades of work. Europe, the company argues, does not have 20 years or $20 billion to spend on similar timelines.
NATO prepares for new class of weapons
Hypersonica became the first private defense company in Europe to independently achieve this level of progress in hypersonic technology, The Times reports.
The company is also among 90 organizations selected by the United Kingdom for participation in a seven-year, £1 billion hypersonic systems development program.
According to the company, the new technology could allow Europe to deploy sovereign hypersonic strike capabilities within NATO and UK programs by 2030, at significantly lower cost than traditional defense projects.
