Polaris has received a contract from Germany’s armed forces to manufacture and operate a two-stage, horizontal take-off and fully reusable hypersonic research vehicle.
The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) contract covers the development of the Hypersonic Test and Experimentation Vehicle (HYTEV). The system will serve as a hypersonic testbed and experimental platform for defense-related and scientific research.
Polaris was founded in 2019 to develop a multipurpose spaceplane and hypersonic transport system called Aurora. The company has tested progressively larger demonstrators, the latest being a pair of 5m (16ft) -long vehicles called MIRA II and MIRA III.
The vehicle can also function as a spaceplane for launching small satellites when configured with an expendable upper stage. The concept for HYTEV was developed during preparatory work conducted in 2024 and 2025, also under BAAINBw contract.
The system has the size and take-off mass of a fighter jet and is planned to be flight-ready by the end of 2027. The main stage will be powered by two turbofan engines and an aerospike rocket engine, while the upper stage will use rocket propulsion only.
The two-stage configuration enables horizontal take-off operations. The reusable design aims to reduce operational costs for hypersonic flight testing.
According to Polaris, the contract represents the first such award for a comparable reusable hypersonic system to a European entity. The vehicle will provide a platform for testing hypersonic technologies and conducting experiments at extreme velocities.
