Hypersonix 3D printed scramjet-powered DART AE completes first hypersonic flight

Brisbane-based Hypersonix Launch Systems successfully flew its DART AE hypersonic aircraft on February 27, 2026, reaching speeds exceeding Mach 5 after launch from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 2 at the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. The mission, titled “That’s Not A Knife,” marked the first flight of an Australian-developed hypersonic aircraft and was conducted under the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit.

DART AE, a 3.5-meter autonomous hypersonic aircraft, was carried to its deployment point in the upper atmosphere aboard Rocket Lab’s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) launch vehicle. Once released, the vehicle’s 3D printed, hydrogen-powered scramjet engine ignited, propelling the craft to hypersonic speeds. The flight gathered technical data on propulsion performance, material behavior, sensor operation and guidance systems under real hypersonic conditions—information the company said would directly inform the design of future operational platforms.

“This mission allowed us to test propulsion, materials and control systems in real hypersonic conditions,” said Dr. Michael Smart, Co-Founder of Hypersonix Launch Systems and former Chair of Hypersonic Propulsion at the University of Queensland. “At these speeds and temperatures, there is no substitute for flight data. The results from this mission will directly shape the design of future operational hypersonic aircraft.”

3D printed propulsion at the core

The use of an additively manufactured scramjet engine—a propulsion system that combusts hydrogen fuel at hypersonic speeds—places Hypersonix’s manufacturing approach at the center of the mission’s technical significance. Scramjet engines are very hard to build because they must withstand extreme heat and pressure during high-speed flight: 3D printing is the only efficient method for manufacturing the necessary geometries to handle these conditions. This is an important achievement for both additive manufacturing and aerospace.

It is interesting to note that RocketLab, the company providing the launch vector, also originated in Australia and based its current fortunes on early adoption of additive manufacturing for rocket engine production.

Hypersonix is developing a class of autonomous hypersonic aircraft capable of sustained flight up to Mach 12. The DART AE platform was designed specifically to validate the propulsion, materials and control technologies that underpin that ambition in actual flight conditions rather than simulated environments.

“Successfully flying DART AE in a true hypersonic environment confirms that an Australian company can design, build and operate technology in one of the most demanding flight regimes on Earth,” said Matt Hill, CEO of Hypersonix Launch Systems. “It is an important step toward delivering hypersonic systems that are operationally relevant for Australia and its allies.”

Funding and next steps

The flight followed Hypersonix’s $46 million Series A funding round, backed by Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Queensland Investment Corporation. The round was led by High Tor Capital, a UK-based investor in national security and frontier technology, with European defense company Saab and Polish family office RKKVC also participating.

The capital is being deployed to accelerate the company’s flight test program, expand advanced manufacturing capacity in Queensland, and fast-track the development of VISR (Velos intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), Hypersonix’s next hypersonic platform. The company currently employs more than 50 people in Brisbane across aerospace engineering, manufacturing and testing roles.