Northrop Grumman expands hypersonic weapon production in Elkton

Northrop Grumman Corp. is expanding its ability to produce hypersonic weapons for the U.S. government with the help of an $8.8 million contract to improve technology at a plant in Elkton. Funding through a division of the Air Force Research Laboratory will enable the aerospace and defense giant to shorten manufacturing time and boost affordability for hypersonic weapons in production, Northrop Grumman said Tuesday. Hypersonic weapons travel at between 5 and 25 times the speed of sound and are highly maneuverable either as hypersonic cruise missiles, which use air-breathing engines called scramjets to reach high speed, or hypersonic glide vehicles, missiles that are launched.