On September 27, the U.S. Defense Department announced the successful flight test of its Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC), a scramjet-propelled hypersonic missile. In the test, conducted the week of September 19, the hydrocarbon-fueled missile successfully released from an aircraft before cruising to speeds over Mach 5. HAWC is a DARPA-U.S. Air Force technology demonstration effort initiated in 2014. In a release, DARPA officials stated that the test “brings us one step closer to transitioning HAWC to a program of record that offers next generation capability to the U.S. military.”