Hypersonics & Extreme Environment Testing Facility (HEET)
Accelerating Materials for the Most Demanding Environments
DRIVING AMERICAN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING INTO THE FUTURE
Introducing HEET, a unique facility designed 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.
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 delivers the infrastructure, expertise, and partnerships needed to push the boundaries of what’s possible, transforming how materials are designed, developed, and tested to withstand the most extreme environments.
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 development 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 materials Development Acceleration
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 enthalpy, high-pressure hypersonic flow performance
- 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
- Mach 5–8 flow 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”)
- A wide panel of advanced pre-test, in-test, and post-test instrumentation and characterization capabilities
- This system delivers unprecedented insight into material response in realistic hypersonic conditions.
- Rapid screening under extreme thermal loads
- Programmable heating profiles
- High-speed thermal imaging for heat flow and degradation analysis
- Dynamic testing systems for extreme deformation rates
- Ballistic and impact testing capabilities
- High-resolution optical strain mapping and 3D imaging
- 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
- Material phase stability and thermal behavior characterization
- Mass spectrometry with ultra-low detection limits
- Optical emission spectroscopy for precise composition analysis
- Rapid screening under extreme thermal loads
- Programmable heating profiles
- High-speed thermal imaging for heat flow and degradation analysis
- Dynamic testing systems for extreme deformation rates
- Ballistic and impact testing capabilities
- High-resolution optical strain mapping and 3D imaging
- 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
- Material phase stability and thermal behavior characterization
- Mass spectrometry with ultra-low detection limits
- Optical emission spectroscopy for precise composition analysis
Emerging Operations Technology
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Advanced Programs Strategic Deterrent Systems
Northrop Grumman Corporation
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 network 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 and its network have executed on more than $30 million in hypersonics materials development programmatic work for the nation since 2021.
Materials Science A New Era of Aerospace Engineering: 3D Printing & Data-Driven Certification
FEATURED WEBINAR
Propelling American Hypersonics to Possible: A Discussion with Northrop Grumman
Presented by:
Angelina Cha, Manufacturing Systems Manager,
Northrop Grumman
Topics include:
- How hypersonic systems are moving from R&D toward scalable manufacturing
- Northrop Grumman’s approach to advancing propulsion technology development
- A look inside the Hypersonics Capability Center (HCC) in Elkton, Maryland
- How the HCC supports air-breathing propulsion systems, including scramjet technologies, as the first U.S. facility purpose-built for this mission
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.