美国初创公司Ursa Major本周发布了一款名为HAVOC的新型高超音速导弹系统。该公司新任首席执行官克里斯·斯帕格诺莱蒂在接受Breaking Defense独家采访时表示，该系统计划大部分由公司自主生产。
斯帕格诺莱蒂指出，美国拥有“多种各样非常先进的高超音速武器”，同时还有一套相对低端的小型弹药。“我们相信HAVOC可以很好地补充这一体系的两端，既能满足高端精品弹药的需求，又能满足低成本、大批量生产的弹药需求。”
HAVOC主要基于该公司正在研发的、推力达4000磅的德雷珀发动机，该发动机的研发资金来自美国空军。作为一款液体火箭发动机，德雷珀可以进行推力调节——这与使用预混推进剂和氧化剂的固体火箭发动机不同，后者一旦点火就无法控制——而且其设计比其他液体火箭发动机更安全，具备固体火箭发动机典型的战术储存能力。
斯帕尼奥莱蒂表示，作为一种模块化导弹系统，HAVOC可以从多种平台发射：可以作为单级导弹从战斗机上发射，也可以添加额外级数用于垂直起降等应用。斯帕尼奥莱蒂将其描述为“中程”，但没有提供更多细节。他补充说，公司的目标是将总成本控制在每枚300万美元以下——这是前五角大楼采购主管比尔·拉普兰特鉴于新型高超音速武器高昂成本而提出的目标价格。
他说，“因此，这真的令人兴奋，因为我们可以灵活地执行各种不同的任务，服务于所有表面，包括太空应用。”
斯帕尼奥莱蒂解释说，基于简单的物理原理，德雷珀发动机相比其他高超音速系统（通常以巡航导弹或滑翔飞行器的形式出现）具有额外的优势。例如，像空军的HACM系统这样的高超音速巡航导弹依赖于吸气式发动机（例如超燃冲压发动机），这意味着它们需要在大气层较低处运行。而大气层密度较高，会产生大量热量，因此需要更先进、更昂贵的隔热防护设备。
斯帕尼奥莱蒂表示，HAVOC无需面临这个问题，因为它可以在大气层较高处运行，从而避免受到过多热量的影响，节省隔热防护成本。此外，在助推滑翔飞行器与滑翔飞行器的比较中，像空军的ARRW系统这样的滑翔飞行器需要由轰炸机等大型飞机携带，而HAVOC相对紧凑的尺寸意味着它可以从更广泛的平台上发射。
高超音速武器，即飞行速度超过5马赫的武器，通常还具有在飞行后期进行机动的能力，这使得它们更难被拦截。斯帕尼奥莱蒂解释说，HAVOC可以通过其推力调节来实现机动性，这意味着它可以加速或减速，从而迷惑敌人的拦截。
“我们认为，HAVOC的独特之处在于它是一个可适应的推进系统，”他说。“因此，我们不仅可以高速飞行，还可以大幅调整推力，并利用我们无需始终保持推进状态的优势。我们无需保持在同一高度。这可以提高我们的生存能力，并迷惑敌人。”
斯帕尼奥莱蒂认为，HAVOC可以执行多种任务，从打击任务到作为防御其他高超音速系统的靶标进行训练。 Ursa Major公司也曾将Draper发动机作为潜在的太空拦截器推进系统进行推广，以配合特朗普政府的“金顶”计划。但斯帕尼奥莱蒂澄清说，HAVOC导弹并非专门为此目的而推广。
Ursa Major公司原本希望在2025年底前完成Draper发动机的试飞，但由于政府停摆、发射前技术问题以及恶劣天气等一系列意外情况，试飞计划被推迟。斯帕尼奥莱蒂表示，公司目前预计飞行测试将“很快”开始。Ursa Major公司还将负责HAVOC导弹的研发，HAVOC导弹的研发是这项工作的自然延伸。
展望未来，斯帕尼奥莱蒂表示，Ursa Major公司计划在未来12至14个月内开展一系列“成熟度提升任务”，以进一步开发HAVOC导弹，最终目标是进行一次“增强型高超音速试飞”。如果一切顺利，这款新型导弹有望在本十年末投入使用。
作为短程导弹制造商，斯帕尼奥莱蒂认为，Ursa Major公司有能力生产HAVOC导弹80%至90%的部件，并指出导引头技术可以外包。他还补充说，该公司目前正在考察场地以扩大生产能力。
Ursa Major公司进军导弹市场也带来了一种有趣的新格局，该公司将与可能与之合作的其他主要承包商展开竞争。
Startup Ursa Major this week isunveiling a new hypersonicmissile system dubbed HAVOC that the company plans to mostly manufacture in-house, the firm’s newly minted CEO Chris Spagnoletti said in an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense.
The United States has “a lot of different flavors of really sophisticated [hypersonic] weapons,” with a separate set of smaller munitions on the lower end, Spagnoletti said. “We believe that HAVOC can be a complement on both ends of that spectrum, in between the high boutique and very exquisite munition, and the very low-cost, high-volume.”
Havoc is based largely around the company’s 4,000-pound-thrust Draper engine, currently in development with funding from the Air Force. As a liquid rocket engine, the Draper can be throttled — unlike solid rocket motors (SRMs) that use a pre-mixed propellant and oxidizer that cannot be controlled once ignited — and is designed to be more safely stored than other liquid rocket engines, providing the tactical storage capabilities typical for an SRM.
As a modular missile system, Spagnoletti said HAVOC could be launched from a wide variety of platforms: as a one-stage missile from a fighter, or with additional stages for applications like vertical take-off. Describing it as “medium range” without providing further detail, Spagnoletti added the company is aiming for an all-up-round to cost under $3 million a piece — a target price tag outlined by former Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante in light of the expensive costs of new hypersonic weapons.
“So it’s really exciting, because of the flexibility of the different mission sets that we can serve all of the surfaces, including space-based applications,” he said.
Spagnoletti explained the Draper engine offers an additional leg-up compared to other hypersonic systems, which typically come in the form of either cruise missiles or glide vehicles, based on simple physics. Hypersonic cruise missiles like the Air Force’s HACM system, for example, rely on air-breathing engines such as scramjets, meaning they need to operate lower in the atmosphere. That denser atmosphere, in turn, creates high amounts of heat, requiring advanced and more expensive thermal protection properties.
HAVOC doesn’t have to face that issue, Spagnoletti said, because it can operate in the upper bounds of the atmosphere and not be subjected to as much heat as a result — saving costs for thermal protection. And when it comes to boost-glide comparisons, where a glide vehicle like the Air Force’s ARRW system has to be carried by a large aircraft like a bomber, HAVOC’s relatively compact size means it can be launched from a wider range of platforms, according to Spagnoletti.
Hypersonic weapons, defined as those that can fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, are also typically characterized by the ability to maneuver in later stages of flight, making them harder to intercept. HAVOC, Spagnoletti explained, can offer a form of maneuverability through its ability to throttle, meaning it can speed up or slow down to throw off attempts to knock it down.
“The differentiator, we believe, is the fact that HAVOC is an adaptable boost system,” he said. “So not only can we go fast, but we can deep throttle and leverage the fact that we are not required to stay on the whole time. We are not required to stay at the same altitude. So what that does is, opens the aperture for survivability, confusing the enemy.”
HAVOC could serve a variety of roles, Spagnoletti reasoned, from strike missions to target practice for defending against other hypersonic systems. Ursa Major has also marketed the Draper engine as a potential propulsion system for space-based interceptors in line with the Trump administration’s Golden Dome project, but Spagnoletti clarified that HAVOC specifically is not being marketed for that purpose.
Ursa Major had hoped to fly the Draper engine by the end of 2025, but some snafus — a government shutdown, a pre-launch technical issue and inclement weather — have delayed its flight. Spagnoletti said the company is now expecting flight testing to commence “imminently.” The development campaign involves Ursa Major building the flight vehicle as well, setting up HAVOC as the natural progression of that work.
Looking ahead, Spagnoletti says Ursa Major is planning “maturity growth missions” over the next 12 to 14 months to develop HAVOC, culminating in a “boosted hypersonic test flight.” If all goes well, the new missile could be fielded before the end of the decade.
As a manufacturer of SRMs, Spagnoletti reasoned Ursa Major would be capable of producing 80 to 90 percent of the content of HAVOC, identifying seeker technology as something that could be outsourced. The company is currently scouting sites to expand its manufacturing capacity, he added.
Ursa Major’s entry into the missile market also sets up an interesting new dynamic, where the company will compete against other prime contractors who they may be actively supplying propulsion systems to.
“As we get in the all-up-round, now we start to encroach on somebody else’s line of business, and we’re prepared for that,” Spagnoletti said, framing the HAVOC announcement as a declaration to become a missile prime contractor.
“Quite frankly, I think all of our prime partners have known that. They’ve watched us build our own vehicles, they’ve actually supported certain parts and pieces of this development,” he said. “If Northrop [Grumman] or another prime wants to get their hands on a propulsion system that is good for the warfighter, that’s good for Ursa. So we are not shying away from helping our potential competitors in the all-up-round arena. I think there’s just too much space right now to put up any real walls.”
Spagnoletti’s appointment elevating him to CEO from his previous role leading Ursa Major’s liquid systems division came as a surprise when it was announced Feb. 19. Speaking to Breaking Defense in his first interview since taking the job, Spagnoletti said the company’s previous CEO, Dan Jablonsky, made a “personal decision to move to something else” and that the former colleagues remain good friends.
Describing Jablonsky as someone who “opened doors” for Ursa Major, Spagnoletti said his focus is now on keeping those avenues open while increasing the company’s manufacturing footprint and executing on its products in development.
“Dan did a great job at uplifting Ursa. For the past year, we had our greatest year on record,” Spagnoletti said. “We’re headed into the next best, greatest year, and I am focused on scaling.”