Australian startup Hypersonix Launch Systems successfully completedthe first flight of its DART AE uncrewed hypersonic demonstrator aircraft on February 27, 2026.
Although this milestone has been labelled the first Australian hypersonic flight, the launch took place from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, with the backing of the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
With this mission, dubbed “That’s Not a Knife”, Hypersonix Launch Systems aims to validate a number of systems onboard the autonomous DART AE hypersonic aircraft. The findings will be used to develop a vehicle capable of reaching a speed of Mach 12.
DART AE was lifted to a sub-orbital altitude by a HASTE launch vehicle developed by New Zealand-based space company Rocket Lab.
“This mission allowed us to test propulsion, materials and control systems in real hypersonic conditions,” saidHypersonix’s co-founder, former NASA research scientist Dr. Michael Smart.
The company’s CEO, Matt Hil, said the flight allowed the firm’s engineers to validate years of work with data obtained from real hypersonic flight conditions.
In October 2025, the Australian startup closed a US$46 million Series A funding round led by High Tor Capital, a UK firm focused on national security investments, and backed by Swedish aerospace firm Saab, Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation, the Queensland Investment Corporation and Polish family office RKKVC.
