Texas A&M-RELLIS home to hypersonic testing research
Hypersonic testing in sight after Texas A&M, Bush Combat Development Complex receive infrastructure
“This is about saving American lives. These lives of American soldiers. It’s about protecting our national interest here in the United States.”
Originally published on Aug. 29, 2022 at 6:10 PM CDT by Donnie Tuggle for KBTX news here and at the link below.
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – In 2018 Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp shared a vision with the Army Futures Command about building a unique, one-of-a-kind hypersonics flight test facility. Sharp said it would help accelerate research and development in the high-priority technological research field of Integrated hypersonics research.
On Monday the Bush Combat Development Complex on the Texas A&M RELLIS Campus received the first piece of critical infrastructure necessary to move former Chancellors Sharp’s vision forward.
As Bush Complex personnel watched from a distance the first of over 20 one-kilometer-long tubes arrived on a flatbed truck and was lifted into place by a massive crane. Once in place, the long tube will be used to test projectiles that can accelerate up to 10 times the speed of sound.
The completed testing site will allow for large-scale prototype testing before advancing to more expensive full-scale system testing.
Several U.S. Officials say Russia and China are ahead of the U.S. in hypersonic missile technology. Now, Texas A&M and the Bush Combat Development Complex plan to position the United States to become number one.
”This is gonna help us as a country really advance critical technology in areas for flight testing, field operations of systems that the country really desperately needs right now,” said Bush Combat Development Complex Director of Hypersonic Facilities Nathan Tichenor. “This will be a nucleus of where researchers can come from across the country to participate in cutting-edge technology.”
“The weapons that we have today simply don’t give us enough options. And so, as they are doing the development in this area, we need the ability to go long distances at highly fast rates,” said Bush Combat Development Complex Director Tim Green.
Besides weapons and technology Green says there’s a greater goal.
“This is about saving American lives. These lives of American soldiers. It’s about protecting our national interest here in the United States,” said Green.