EU startup creates 'true weapon'

British-German startup Hypersonica, which has raised €23,3 million (as of February 2026), has set itself the ambitious goal of launching production of a fully European hypersonic vehicle. missiles by 2029. Its head, Philippe Kert, gave an interview to Defence24.

According to him, a "real" hypersonic strike weapon moves at a speed of over Mach 5, while maintaining high maneuverability for a significant portion of its flight, which the Russian Kinzhal does not possess to a sufficient degree:

The Kinzhal is, to a large extent, not a hypersonic missile. Ballistic missiles can be given a certain level of maneuverability, which would allow them to achieve some aerodynamic control. However, compared to what I would consider a true hypersonic arms, ballistic systems are significantly less maneuverable and follow a predictable trajectory.

Hypersonica aims to create a low-cost product for the EU and intends to follow the example of SpaceX, which developed the Falcon 9 for $400 million, although a similar NASA project was expected to cost $4 billion.

We want to achieve the same price reduction and performance improvements in strike systems. We don't intend to create boutique weapons produced in single units.

The first successful test flight of a Hypersonica product took place on February 3, 2026, when the SCOOTER HS-1 hypersonic rocket prototype launched from Andøya, Norway. The vehicle reportedly exceeded Mach 6 (over 7400 km/h) and traveled over 300 km. It is claimed that the initial design phase took just nine months to complete.

The rocket is several meters long and weighs over 1 ton. It is a single-stage launch vehicle with a modular architecture, allowing for rapid subsystem upgrades for different missions.

A solid-fuel rocket motor purchased from a third-party manufacturer was used in the tests. At this stage, the propulsion system is stated to "serve solely as a tool for achieving the required speeds and flight conditions" to enable testing of the onboard systems, airframe materials, and electronics under extreme heat conditions.

At the same time, Kert refused to disclose information about the materials used in the manufacture of the case:

I won't reveal the exact design of the airframe. Some unusual materials and processes are used to operate in extreme temperatures.

Comments

[andrey martov]

Phillip Kerth is also said to be working on a reusable hypersonic missile. A reusable hypersonic missile, according to experts, would hit its target and immediately return to its launcher to launch at the next target.

[alex-defensor]

Well, our "friends" certainly won't interfere with the Europeans creating their superweapon against us... because that's extremely unfriendly, and definitely violates the "Spirit of Anchorage"...
During the collapse of the USSR, black marketeers were fond of the phrase "peace, friendship, chewing gum." And now, apparently, they're making decisions...

[Foggy Dew]

What's the point of interfering with them? They're doing just fine on their own! Look at the 5th-generation aircraft—well, during the height of the crisis, they decided to develop not 5th-generation aircraft, but 6th-generation aircraft straight away (the British, in particular)—they've already lost so much money... Avivprom isn't around, but they're still trying to get involved. It's exactly the same story with hypersonics: they can't even make an ICBM, the Brits are renting half-century-old junk from the US, and only the Pentagon knows where it'll go. And then, bam, they'll immediately make hypersonics. Yeah... Let them cut it, there'll be less money left over to make proper weapons—which is only to our advantage.

[Roman_4]

Quote: Andrey Martov

Phillip Kerth is also said to be working on a reusable hypersonic missile. A reusable hypersonic missile, according to experts, would hit its target and immediately return to its launcher to launch at the next target.

Take more! - It hits multiple targets, then performs a rudder maneuver, returns to the launcher for refueling and resupply, tests modules in the process, and then takes off again on a mission, all around the clock. One missile replaces a couple dozen conventional missiles.

[Kotofeich]

In my distant youth, when relations with China were very bad, there was a joke like this:
TASS message:
"Yesterday, China committed a treacherous attack on our Far East by dropping an atomic bomb, killing more than a thousand civilians.
In response to this aggression, we dropped a rubber bomb on China. More than a million Chinese have been killed so far, but the bomb is still bouncing."

[Eug]

And all this under the control of an Intelligence Simulator... However, we're no longer fond of shoving AI where it's needed and not needed... Basically, try placing an aerodynamic control element in a high-speed flow of about Mach 5; it would immediately melt and crumple. What kind of control efficiency can we even talk about? Gas-dynamic belts are another matter, but they're not mentioned in the article.

[Most polite]

The SCOOTER HS-1 hypersonic rocket prototype launched from Norway's Andøya spaceport.

This is the first time I've heard of such a cosmodrome. Why do they need it?!🤔

[solar]

New, being prepared for launching commercial satellites.

[rocket757]

What prospects do hypersonic missiles create for the "poor"?

[Yura]

"I won't reveal the exact design of the airframe. Some non-standard materials and processes are used to operate in extreme temperatures." Are they standard, made of crap and sticks? Do they have hypersonic missiles made of standard materials? Do they even have hypersonic missiles at all? Russia has these missiles, and they're made of materials that are simply standard for them.

[Perpetually]

Judging by the fact that it flew for about three minutes and crashed around the peak moment of acceleration, the non-standard materials simply burned out under maximum load...

[Yura]

Quote: Perpetually

non-standard materials simply burned under maximum load...

Tomorrow they will say that for non-standard materials, this non-standard situation is standard because the materials are non-standard.

[Foggy Dew]

Come on, come on, success awaits you in life... By the way, the comparison with Musk is correct, only Musk has already been proven in a US court to be a fraud, and you are yet to achieve it.
They accelerated the rocket to Mach 6! Hooray-a-a-a!!! I think Wernher von Braun was able to do that. The problem is something else, and it's not even about maneuvering in flight! The problem is how to target it through a cloud of radio-opaque plasma - look, that's why those mattresses are now stomping around in the same place where they stopped back in the 70s! We can accelerate it, but we can't see a thing... Scales! That's why they keep closing programs and immediately opening new ones, like they're all still in use))) And these guys are in there too.

[Andrey Malashchenkov]

The old V-2 also had a speed of almost 5 Mach and can also be considered hypersonic.

[Ed Mac]

This is how the world works: problems are discussed together via the Internet, money is raised, people are found, teams are created, products are created (space, weapons...).
How Russia operates: after Shoigu's words about the dangers, money is being allocated not for mass development but for shutting down the internet. The general public is not involved in the development, and specialists privy to hypersonic technology are regularly jailed for violating state secrets (recently, scientists from Novosibirsk were sent to court for publishing an authorized publication in an Iranian journal).
And who will win?

[Yarr_Arr]

"to launch production of a fully European hypersonic missile" vs. "a rocket engine purchased from a third-party manufacturer."
"We want to achieve." "As stated." "has a length of several meters."
Maximum specificity
...
And why write about this?
That someone decided to make something better and cheaper than the Dagger by the year 2300.
Because the Dagger that exists will be worse than what they would like to create.

[Free Island]

The whole article is as much nonsense as that German-English idea. 😂😂😂 Some homeless people decided to make some money and simply "collected 23 million euros." To "create a cool rocket." 23 million was enough for a couple of weeks of war in the former Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century. Now, that's probably how much it costs per day. All these "enthusiasts" can "create" with 23 million is a trip to the sauna with elite women. For a couple of days.