Kratos Successfully Launches Hypersonic Propulsion Research Payload; Rocket Makes Successful Mach 7 Flight
Mar 29, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) --
Launch Demonstrates and Tests Technologies That Will Pave the Way for Future Air-Breathing Strike Weapons, Reconnaissance and Responsive Strike Vehicles
Flight Was the Second in a Series of Up to Ten Planned Launches
SAN DIEGO, March 29, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:KTOS), a leading National Defense, Information Technology, Assurance and Security Solutions provider, today announced the successful launch of a hypersonic propulsion research mission from the Woomera Test Facility in South Australia. The launch was conducted by Kratos Rocket Support Services under contract to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division Detachment at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico (NSWC PHD Det WS) in support of the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory (ARFL), headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
Hypersonic flight is a flight through the atmosphere at speeds above Mach 5.5, or more than five times the speed of sound. The successful launch boosted the research payload to a speed of over Mach 7, enabling scientists to collect fundamental data critical to the design and development of an engine capable of sustained hypersonic flight.
"We are extremely pleased to participate in helping to advance this new propulsion system technology," said David Carter, President of Kratos' Defense Engineering Solutions Division. "This successful mission demonstrates Kratos direct participation, capabilities and support in a number of critical National Security areas, including next generation weapons research and development, weapons system support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and ballistic missile defense."
Specific objectives of the flight were to demonstrate and test technologies that will pave the way for future air-breathing strike weapons, reconnaissance and responsive strike vehicles. Hypersonic flight also has the potential to revolutionize global air travel enabling travel between any two points on the globe in just a matter of a few hours.
This flight was the second in a series of up to ten planned flight experiments under a joint research program between AFRL and the Australian Department of Defense, Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO). The research program, called Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) is investigating the fundamental science of hypersonics technology and its potential for next-generation aeronautical propulsion systems.
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:KTOS) provides mission critical engineering, IT services, strategic communications and war fighter solutions for the U.S. federal government and for state and local agencies. Principal services include C5ISR, weapon systems sustainment, military weapon range operations and technical services, network engineering services, information assurance and cybersecurity solutions, security and surveillance systems, and critical infrastructure design and integration. The Company is headquartered in San Diego, California, with resources located throughout the U.S. and at key strategic military locations. News and information are available at www.KratosDefense.com.
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SOURCE: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
CONTACT: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Press Contact: Yolanda White 858-812-7302 Investor Information 877-934-4687 investor@kratosdefense.com
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