Cummings Aerospace
Cummings Aerospace's 3D printed Hellhound S3 turbojet-powered kamikaze drone has successfully complete a demonstration at the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) 2025.
The drone, which is said to fly faster than 375 mph, has thus had its ability to operate in a tactically relevant environment validated.
An unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the Hellhound S3 has been designed to equip the U.S. Army's Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) with the same combat power as Armored Brigades, enabling precise, long-range strikes against tanks, armoured vehicles and fortified positions.
The demonstration was conducted at Foot Moore in Georgia on January 30th, 2025. It involved a single GPS-guided tactical mission using an inert warhead payload, with all mission objectives being met. The airframe and key subsystems were revalidated at Technology Readiness Level 7, proving reliable performance in operationally realistic conditions, and built on the previous 12 test flights conducted on the Hellhound airframe over the past two years.
"Hellhound's performance at AEWE 2025 highlighted a fundamental reality — speed matters, and quadcopters and prop-driven drones take too long to get downrange," said Sheila Cummings, CEO of Cummings Aerospace. "While quadcopters and propeller-driven drones will still be puttering along behind friendly lines, Hellhound will already be over the target area, giving IBCTs the ability to strike faster, reach deeper into the battlespace, and decisively engage fleeting, time-sensitive targets."
Hellhound S3 is powered by a turbojet engine that enables it to travel at speeds of 384 mph. 3D printing has been leveraged to manufacture the drone to simplify logistics and deliver 'advanced capabilities at lower costs than traditional systems.' It is said to weigh less than 25 pounds, boast a modular deign that supports warhead, Electronic Warfare, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance payloads, and allows soldiers to field-swap payloads in less than five minutes without tools.
The demonstration also enabled Cummings Aerospace engineers to gather important feedback from warfighters, enabling the company to further refine the system. From here, Cummings Aerospace will conduct additional flight tests of the Hellhound S3 to bring the entire system to TRL-7, before submitting a proposal to formally offer Hellhound to the U.S. Army's Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. Demonstrations and tests will then be conducted for other customers.
