Hypersonic & Extreme Environment Testing Facility (HEET)
Advancing Materials for the Most Demanding Environments
NEW ADVANCED TESTING FACILTY
Driving the Future of Hypersonics
A Strategic Initiative Led by LIFT to Meet a Critical National Need
The challenges of hypersonic flight demands bold, coordinated solutions. HEET, a LIFT Innovation Facility, delivers the infrastructure, expertise, and partnerships needed to push the boundaries of what’s possible, transforming how materials are developed for extreme environments.
LIFT INNOVATION HUB
Introducing HEET, a new opportunity to accelerate innovation in hypersonic systems, advanced materials, and defense technologies.
LIFT is unlocking access to specialized equipment and testing environments beyond the capabilities of traditional in-house facilities.
HEET next generation Facility is purpose-built to enable faster development, validation, and optimization of advanced materials critical to U.S. national security.
- HEET will serve as a central hub for collaboration across industry, government, and academia where industry leaders will help define and prioritize critical testing needs.
- HEET Research and testing efforts directly align national defense priorities and emerging industry demands, strengthening U.S. technological leadership.
- HEET supports defense modernization efforts and improvements in system performance and reliability to protect U.S. national security and the warfighter.
ACCELERATING MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT
The U.S. faces an urgent need to accelerate the development and adoption of new extreme performance materials.
HEET addresses this challenge by combining advanced testing infrastructure with digital engineering approaches. The facility will:
Simulate real-world hypersonic environments in laboratory settings
Generate data to calibrate and refine Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) models
Physically validate material properties under extreme conditions
Accelerate the materials development lifecycle
This integrated approach reduces risk, lowers costs, and enables faster qualification and certification of mission-critical material technologies.
Hypersonic Research Access
Bridging Critical Gaps in Extreme Environment Testing
HEET brings together advanced testing, analysis, and material characterization technologies designed for hypersonic, high-temperature, and high-stress environments. From hypersonic flow performance and thermal testing to shock evaluation, microscopy, and chemical analysis, the facility delivers the critical insight needed to develop, validate, and qualify next-generation materials and systems for demanding real-world applications.
— High-temperature ablation and oxidation susceptibility
— High strain rate and shock event testing
— Foundational materials property testing
— Advanced microscopy and metallurgical analysis
— Chemical and thermodynamic evaluation
— This system delivers unprecedented insight into material response in realistic hypersonic conditions.
— Stagnation pressures up to 2,500 psi
— Temperatures ranging from ambient to 3,000 K
— Minimum one-minute continuous run time
— Flexible test section sizes (up to 9” x 9”)
— Rapid screening under extreme thermal loads
— Programmable heating profiles
— High-speed thermal imaging for heat flow and degradation analysis
High Strain Rate & Shock Testing
— Dynamic testing systems for extreme deformation rates
— Ballistic and impact testing capabilities
— High-resolution optical strain mapping and 3D imaging
Mechanical & Structural Testing
— Fatigue, fracture, tensile, and compression testing
— High-frequency dynamic performance evaluation
— Industry-standard impact testing
— Ultra-high-resolution imaging and 3D analysis
— High-throughput measurement and automated reporting
Chemical & Thermodynamic Analysis
— Material phase stability and thermal behavior characterization
— Mass spectrometry with ultra-low detection limits
— Optical emission spectroscopy for precise composition analysis
A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
A Collaborative Space to Drive Impact
HEET is designed to bring industry, government, and academia into a shared environment focused on solving critical materials challenges. Through access to advanced testing capabilities, collaborative research, and integrated technical resources, organizations can shape future technology initiatives while advancing the development and validation of next-generation materials and systems.
- Industry leaders help define and prioritize critical testing needs
- LIFT ecosystem partners contribute to technology roadmaps and strategic initiatives
- Access to nationally significant testing and characterization capabilities
- Dedicated collaboration and training spaces to support workshops and technical engagement
- Opportunities to accelerate development timelines and reduce testing barriers
LIFT project calls fund $XX million with $XXmillion ROI impact in Hypersonics Development between 2021–2025.
Materials Science A New Era of Aerospace Engineering: 3D Printing & Data-Driven Certification
JOIN US
Hypersonic Summit
Accelerating Manufacturing Technology for Warfighter Advantage
June 17, 2026 | 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
LIFT | 1400 Rosa Parks Blvd, Detroit, MI
This Summit will convene senior leaders to examine how the hypersonic industrial base can accelerate development by addressing manufacturability challenges and transitioning transformational warfighting capabilities into production, leveraging next-generation facilities to build a resilient hypersonic industrial base aligned with national defense priorities.
Interested in learning more about our advanced testing and research capabilities?
Connect with our team to explore partnership opportunities, technology initiatives, and access to specialized infrastructure supporting hypersonic materials development.
Whether you are an industry partner, researcher, government organization, or technology developer, we welcome the opportunity to discuss how HEET can support your mission and innovation goals.