February 10, 2026 at 2:01 PM
German startup aims to deliver European hypersonic strike by 2029
Hypersonica says it uses military-grade components from suppliers, as the company notched a successful test flight in Norway.
Hypersonica's first hypersonic test flight in Norway pushed its missile prototype to more than Mach 6 and a range of more than 300 kilometers, the company said. (Hypersonica)PARIS — German startup Hypersonica claimed a “significant” step toward delivering Europe’s first sovereign hypersonic strike capability by 2029, after the company’s first hypersonic test flight in Norway pushed its missile prototype to more than Mach 6 and a range of more than 300 kilometers.The startup based near Munich plans further test flights to demonstrate advanced flight control at hypersonic speeds and complex maneuverability, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Hypersonica said it’s the first privately funded European defense company to achieve hypersonic flight, until now mostly the domain of government-funded secretive multi-year projects.Hypersonica says it’s using modular design for quick upgrades and to shorten development cycles to months from years, cutting costs by more than 80% compared to “conventional approaches.”The U.S.
Congressional Budget Office said in a 2023 report that hypersonic missiles could cost a third more than ballistic missiles of the same range with maneuverable warheads.“We’re working to develop a European sovereign strike system in a time frame and at costs that makes sense for European governments, including those with more constrained defense budgets,” Hypersonica told Defense News in an emailed reply to questions.“Europe doesn’t have 20 years or billions to spend on developing hypersonic strike,” the company said. “A new kind of tech-development approach is needed, and that’s what we’re bringing with our rapid iterative approach.”Hypersonic missiles are typically defined as flying faster than five times the speed of sound while remaining maneuverable in the atmosphere. A fundamental technological challenge is the extreme heat generated by their high speed.France has been working on hypersonic technology since the 1990s and is developing a hypersonic air-launched nuclear missile, the ASN4G.