Cummings Aerospace’s Hellhound S3, a turbojet-powered, 3D printed kamikaze drone, not too long ago hit a milestone with its first flight on a US Military take a look at vary throughout the Military Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) 2025. The Hellhound S3, which flies at speeds exceeding 375 mph, showcased its skill to carry out in real-world, tactically related eventualities – validating its operational readiness.
Developed to arm Infantry Brigade Fight Groups (IBCTs) with strike capabilities beforehand reserved for Armored Brigades, the Hellhound S3 delivers high-speed, long-range lethality towards armored automobiles and fortified targets. Its breakthrough lies not simply in efficiency, however in its engineering strategy: combining 3D printing with DoD-approved industrial elements, the system is each cost-effective and light-weight, weighing below 25 kilos as an entire unit.
The AEWE demonstration, carried out at Fort Moore, Georgia, on January 30, 2025, concerned a GPS-guided mission utilizing an inert warhead. All mission aims had been met, confirming the kamikaze drone’s Expertise Readiness Stage 7 (TRL-7) and proving its reliability in combat-like environments. It marked the end result of two years of developmental flight checks and solidified the Hellhound’s standing as a next-gen answer for cellular infantry models.
“Hellhound’s efficiency at AEWE 2025 highlighted a elementary actuality – pace issues, and quadcopters and prop-driven drones take too lengthy to get downrange,” mentioned Sheila Cummings, CEO of Cummings Aerospace. “Whereas quadcopters and propeller-driven drones will nonetheless be puttering alongside behind pleasant strains, Hellhound will already be over the goal space, giving IBCTs the power to strike quicker, attain deeper into the battlespace, and decisively interact fleeting, time-sensitive targets.”
Designed with a modular payload bay, the Hellhound S3 can shortly swap between warhead, digital warfare, and ISR payloads – all field-swappable by troopers in below 5 minutes with out instruments. Wanting forward, Cummings Aerospace plans additional flight testing and goals to submit the system to the US Military’s Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. With scalability constructed into its 3D printed body, the Hellhound S3 is poised to adapt to a variety of missions throughout army branches and allied forces.
