Gallery: 67th Laureate Award Winners In Defense

Lockheed Martin’s AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) achieved the first end-to-end tests of a hypersonic glide vehicle with a high lift-to-drag design. Facing an uncertain future, the U.S. Air Force program battled numerous obstacles and a daunting schedule to demonstrate the viability of an air-launched hypersonic weapon with the ability to maneuver during the glide phase. 

Just seven flights into its test program, Airbus’ Rapid and Cost-Effective Rotorcraft demonstrator raced past its initial 220-kt. speed target. Developed under Europe’s Clean Sky 2 research program, RACER’s aim is to prove higher cruise speeds can be achieved for rotary-wing aircraft without significantly higher operating cost or training burden. 

Demonstrating its ability to turn disrupting the defense industry from idea to reality, startup Anduril in 2024 underscored its arrival as an industrial force by winning a U.S. Air Force contract to develop a Cooperative Combat Aircraft, snagging an order for more than 500 counter-drone interceptors and securing a $1.5 billion funding round. 

High-speed aircraft developer Hermeus completed initial tests of a full-scale precooler with a Pratt & Whitney F100-229 engine, marking a key step toward the development of a production-relevant turbine-based combined-cycle propulsion system and paving the way for flight tests of a low-cost, reusable, air-breathing hypersonic aircraft.

Pioneering propulsion advances achieved through the U.S. Air Force’s Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) led to the development and test of two three-stream engines – GE Aerospace’s XA100 and Pratt & Whitney’s XA101. With 10% more thrust and 30% higher efficiency than the F135, the engines will pave the way for future variable-cycle powerplants.