Cummings Aerospace has completed a U.S. Army test range demonstration of its turbojet-powered, 3D-printed kamikaze drone, Hellhound S3. The flight was part of the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) 2025 and marked the first time the Hellhound S3 was flown in an operationally realistic environment.
Hellhound S3 is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) designed to equip the U.S. Army’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) with the same combat power as Armored Brigades. It enables precise, long-range strikes against tanks, armored vehicles, and fortified positions.
Hellhound System Overview:
- Speed & Agility: Turbojet engine enables flight beyond 350 mph.
- Affordable Design: 3D-printed components and commercial off-the-shelf parts reduce cost.
- Man-portable: Total system weight (drone, launch canister, ground control) under 25 lbs, allowing single-Soldier deployment.
- Modular Payloads: This system supports warhead, electronic warfare, and ISR payloads. Payloads are field-swappable in under five minutes, and no tools are required.
The AEWE demonstration took place on January 30, 2025, at Fort Moore, Georgia. During the test, the Hellhound S3 executed a GPS-guided tactical mission carrying an inert warhead payload. All primary mission objectives were met, reaffirming system reliability at Technology Readiness Level 7 (TRL-7). The demonstration also enabled Cummings Aerospace engineers to gather valuable feedback from warfighters to refine the system further.
“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.”
In addition to AEWE, Cummings Aerospace conducted a separate series of rigorous flight tests January 22–25, 2025, at the Pendleton UAS Range in Oregon. These tests validated the system’s performance in speed, ISR capabilities, and simulated target engagement. Key highlights included:
- Reaching flight speeds exceeding 350 mph while covering distances beyond 20 km using only 50% of its fuel.
- Successful integration and real-time transmission of live video from the seeker payload.
- Simulated strike performance using an inert warhead under adverse weather conditions, including cold, wind, and snow.
“The modern battlefield demands speed, and quadcopters and propeller-driven drones are slow. In combat, our peer adversaries will exploit every second of delay,” noted Cummings. “Hellhound’s jet-powered design ensures Infantry Brigade Combat Teams can act faster—gathering intelligence and striking critical targets deep in the contested areas before the enemy has time to react.”
With its turbojet propulsion, Hellhound S3 achieved a top speed of 384 mph during these tests. The system is designed for man-portable operations, with the all-up-round (vehicle, launch canister, and ground control) weighing less than 25 pounds. Its modular payload bay supports warhead, electronic warfare, and ISR payloads that can be swapped in the field without tools in under five minutes.
Cummings Aerospace plans to conduct additional flight tests throughout 2025 and formally submit Hellhound S3 to the U.S. Army’s Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. The system is engineered to meet LASSO program requirements and is scalable to support evolving mission sets across other military branches and allied forces.
Hellhound is tailored to meet the U.S. Army’s loitering munition requirements. It provides IBCTs with rapid, precise lethality against tanks, armored vehicles, and fortified positions. Its loitering capability and extended range offer beyond-line-of-sight strike potential with minimal collateral damage.
About Cummings Aerospace
Cummings Aerospace is a Native American Woman-Owned Small Business headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. The company specializes in responsible weapon system solutions, including missile systems, hypersonic vehicles, radars, command and control systems, and advanced aerospace technologies.
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Source/Photo Credit: Cummings Aerospace
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