Brisbane firm races to build the world's first hydrogen hypersonic jet

A Brisbane-based company is helping to develop the world’s first hydrogen-fueled hypersonic jet. Hypersonix Launch Systems is working with US defence agencies and NASA on the project. The aircraft aims to reach speeds of up to Mach 12, far surpassing current records. Hypersonix has built the DART AE, an 11.5ft demonstrator aircraft powered by its Spartan scramjet engine. The engine is 3D-printed from high-temperature alloys, designed to function between Mach 5 and Mach 12. Partners in the project include NASA, the US Defense Innovation Unit, and Kratos.

If successful, the DART AE will achieve the first sustained hypersonic flight using green hydrogen as fuel. This would mark a major leap over the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the current fastest conventional plane at over Mach 3. Meanwhile, other companies like Spike Aerospace and China’s COMAC are also exploring hypersonic concepts.

Lockheed Martin is separately developing the SR-72, a hypersonic successor to the SR-71, with potential service entry in the 2030s. The US Air Force has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in this programme. The project could redefine high-speed flight with sustainable fuel. The DART AE demonstrator will test the viability of hydrogen-powered hypersonic travel. Success would place the US at the forefront of this emerging aerospace technology.