Hypersonic Systems Startup Emerges From Stealth with Series A and Test Launch
•February 10, 2026
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Why It Matters
The venture marks Europe’s first privately funded hypersonic strike program, accelerating indigenous capability and reshaping NATO’s strategic options against peer competitors.
Key Takeaways
- •€23.3M Series A led by Plural secured
- •First test hit Mach 6+, 300km range
- •Goal: operational glide vehicles by 2029
- •Targets NATO deep‑strike market
- •Collaboration includes DLR and German agency
Pulse Analysis
Europe’s hypersonic landscape has long been dominated by state‑run projects, leaving a capability gap that private innovators are now eager to fill. Hypersonica’s rapid emergence illustrates how venture capital can compress development timelines that traditionally span decades. By leveraging a €23.3 million Series A and partnerships with agencies such as Germany’s DLR, the startup is positioning itself at the nexus of aerospace expertise and defense financing, a model that could inspire similar ventures across the continent.
The funding round signals strong confidence from both public and private investors in the commercial viability of hypersonic weapons. Plural’s leadership, combined with backing from the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, underscores a strategic push to diversify Europe’s defense industrial base away from reliance on external suppliers. This capital infusion not only fuels full‑scale flight testing but also enables Hypersonica to build a supply chain that meets NATO’s stringent security standards, potentially opening export pathways to allied nations seeking rapid‑response strike solutions.
The successful test flight, achieving Mach 6 speeds and a 300‑kilometre trajectory, validates key aerodynamic and thermal technologies essential for future glide vehicles. The data harvested will accelerate design cycles for manoeuvrable hypersonic systems, narrowing the performance gap with U.S. and Chinese programs. As NATO members grapple with evolving threat environments, Hypersonica’s roadmap—short‑range capability by 2027 and full operational glide vehicles by 2029—offers a timely, Europe‑centric alternative that could reshape the alliance’s deterrence posture.
Hypersonic Systems Startup Emerges from Stealth with Series A and Test Launch
Credit: Hypersonica
Munich-headquartered hypersonic systems startup Hypersonica has emerged from stealth, announcing the closure of a €23.3 million Series A funding round and a successful test launch of a missile prototype.
Founded in December 2023, Hypersonica is developing what it describes as the first privately funded European hypersonic strike capability, with operations currently spanning the UK and Germany. The company aims to offer fully operational hypersonic glide vehicles by 2029, with an initial, shorter-range hypersonic strike capability available from 2027.
On 10 February, the company announced that it had closed a €23.3 million Series A funding round led by London-headquartered venture capital and investment fund Plural. The round included participation from Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, General Catalyst, and 201 Ventures. According to the company, the funding will enable it to continue full-scale flight testing as it works toward meeting the demands of NATO member states for deep precision strike capabilities.
“Europe is at a decisive moment where speed in defence innovation is no longer optional but essential,” said Hypersonica co-founders Dr. Philipp Kerth and Dr. Marc Ewenz in a statement. “Our mission is clear: equip Europe with the technological edge it needs and wants in manoeuvrable hypersonic systems to defend against military aggression and safeguard the democratic values that bind our societies.”
In addition to its recently closed funding round, the company announced on 10 February that it had completed its first successful test flight.
The test vehicle, which featured a Hypersonica hypersonic missile prototype atop a booster provided by an unnamed partner, was launched on 3 February from Andøya Space in Norway. According to the company, the vehicle accelerated to speeds exceeding Mach 6 (>7,400 km/h) and achieved a range of over 300 kilometres. In its post-flight press release, Hypersonica confirmed that the vehicle’s performance was successfully validated down to the subcomponent level at hypersonic speeds.
“Our test flight yielded invaluable datasets that will inform the design and development of future high-speed strike systems and enhance our ability to analyse adversary weapon profiles,” explained the two co-founders. “As a privately funded startup, our speed from design to the launchpad in just 9 months should recalibrate expectations about the costs and time needed to develop this crucial capability.”
While not mentioned in its press release, the mission was called SCOOTER, with an initial press release about the launch being published on 1 February by Andøya Space before being removed. Although the post is no longer available, saved metadata shows that Hypersonica developed the test vehicle in collaboration with DLR. The German aerospace agency has been developing its own hypersonic system, called SHEFEX (Sharp Edge Flight Experiment), since the early 2000s, with an initial test flight conducted in October 2005 from Andøya Space.
The company plans to move forward with a phased approach, with successive test flights aiming to achieve hypersonic flight, demonstrate flight control at hypersonic speeds, demonstrate complex manoeuvrability, and ultimately meet full mission requirements.
The post Hypersonic Systems Startup Emerges from Stealth with Series A and Test Launch appeared first on European Spaceflight.
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