US Army fires hypersonic warhead from repurposed HATS cannon in Arizona test
The US Army conducted a live-fire hypersonic trial on July 30, launching an Integrated Launch Package from the repurposed HATS launcher at Yuma Proving Ground.
On July 30, the US Army carried out its first live-fire hypersonic experiment by firing an Integrated Launch Package from the Heavy Artillery Test System at Arizona’s Yuma Proving Ground. The HATS launcher, a leftover from the Strategic Long Range Cannon effort that lost funding in 2022, was adapted to propel only the warhead encased in the hardened ILP rather than a complete missile. The test involved the Army’s DEVCOM Armaments Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and YPG, using telemetry, high-speed cameras and other range sensors to monitor the flight and impact.
Results showed the ILP could endure the extreme launch stresses, providing data that could aid future hypersonic weapon development while cutting costs compared with full-scale missile tests that can exceed $15 million. The cannon-based method is intended to complement, not replace, traditional flight tests, wind-tunnel work and rocket-sled experiments.
Why it matters
It provides a cheaper, faster way to gather data for hypersonic weapons, reducing development costs for the military.
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