NEWS

WASHINGTON: DoD and Norway’s Defense Ministry today announced an umbrella agreement for partnering on development of ramjet propulsion technologies, which the US Navy and Army have been eying to power future hypersonic missiles. The agreement is the first to be publicly revealed under DoD’s new Allied Prototyping Initiative (API), led by Mike Griffin’s office for research and engineering.

The bilateral effort to explore advanced solid fuel ramjet technologies is called the “Tactical High-speed Offensive Ramjet for Extended Range, or THOR-ER,” DoD said in its press release. THOR-ER “aims to cooperatively develop and integrate advancements in solid fuel ramjet technologies into full-size prototypes that are affordable, attain high-speeds, and achieve extended range, culminating in flight demonstrations in operationally relevant conditions,” DoD explained.