Advancing Europe’s supersonic and hypersonic capabilities through efficient, privately developed innovation

At a time when supersonic and hypersonic flight are rapidly returning to the strategic agenda of Europe – across space access, defence, and high-speed aviation – mastering air-breathing propulsion is once again a technological priority. These regimes promise faster response, increased operational flexibility, and more sustainable approaches to reaching space, but they also require a whole range of technologies that Europe must be able to develop and control autonomously.

In this context, FAST Aerospace, an Italian startup developing advanced hypersonic systems, announces the successful experimental testing of Crossbow, its ramjet combustion chamber demonstrator, conducted in December 2025 at the facilities of DLR Lampoldshausen (German Aerospace Center), one of Europe’s leading centers for aerospace propulsion research.

A ramjet is a propulsion system that uses the vehicle’s forward speed to compress incoming air before combustion, without the need for rotating compressors or turbines. Its simplicity and efficiency at high speeds make it a key enabler for sustained supersonic and hypersonic flight, particularly for applications where reusability, responsiveness, and scalability are essential.

During the test campaign, Crossbow demonstrated stableand well-anchored combustion inside the chamber, a critical milestone for any ramjet development program. The test was successfully repeated more than 50 times, across a wide range of operating conditions and configurations. Each run provided valuable experimental data, allowing the FAST engineering team to better understand flame behavior, stability margins, and overall combustor performance, key for further technical development.

“This campaign represents a major technical validation for FAST,” said Lorenzo Beggio, CEO of FAST Aerospace. “Achieving stable ramjet combustion in a controlled, repeatable manner is a prerequisite for any credible hypersonic roadmap. Doing so within such a short timeframe demonstrates the strength of our approach and our team.”

What makes this milestone particularly noteworthy is the efficiency of execution. From the first conceptual sketches to a full experimental test campaign at DLR, the Crossbow demonstrator was developed in just one year and with a team of only seven people. This lean yet rigorous approach reflects FAST’s philosophy: rapid iteration, strong system-level vision, and early experimental validation.

Crossbow was manufactured to specifications by Sophia High Tech, an Italian company, based on FAST’s design. This collaboration highlights the growing capability of the Italian industrial ecosystem to support advanced aeronautical, supersonic, and hypersonic technologies, and reinforces Italy’s role within the broader European high-speed research landscape.

The Crossbow demonstrator is a technology enabler within FAST’s HyperDart program, which aims to develop a reusable hypersonic air-launch system for small satellite delivery. While HyperDart is primarily conceived for civil and commercial access to space, the underlying technologies – air-breathing propulsion, high-speed flight control, and reusable architectures – are inherently dual-use, with clear relevance for defence and national security applications, such as rapid access, resilience, and strategic autonomy.

“Crossbow is not an isolated experiment,” explained Mattia Gabriele Bertolini, CTO of FAST Aerospace. “It is a building block within a larger system vision. Every test we run feeds directly into HyperDart, but also into a broader understanding of reusable hypersonic propulsion that Europe urgently needs.”

With this successful ground-test campaign completed, FAST’s next major challenge is to increase the maturity of its ramjet technology by bringing it into flight. The company is now working toward an in-house flying demonstrator, designed to operate in relevant supersonic conditions and validate ramjet performance in a real atmospheric environment – an essential step toward operational systems.

FAST Aerospace is proudly Italian and firmly European in outlook. Its work contributes to strengthening Europe’s independent capabilities in high-speed flight and advanced propulsion, through responsible innovation, collaboration with leading research institutions, and a long-term vision that bridges space access, security, and industrial competitiveness.

For further information on FAST Aerospace Srl and its initiatives, visit fast-aerospace.comor contact:

Dr. Alessandro Castelvetri

Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Co-founder

a.castelvetri@fast-aerospace.com

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