# How the Pentagon Is Betting on Reusable Hypersonic Drones

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/how-the-pentagon-is-betting-on-reusable-hypersonic-drones
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/how-the-pentagon-is-betting-on-reusable-hypersonic-drones.md
Podcast: [The Defense Tech Podcast with Fexingo: Government Contracting, Aerospace, and Military Tech](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833)
Published: 2026-06-18T07:59:55+00:00
Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-defense-tech-podcast/episode-0058.mp3
Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-defense-tech-podcast/episode-0058.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/episodes/how-the-pentagon-is-betting-on-reusable-hypersonic-drones
Duration seconds: 521

## Resource

Episode 58 of The Defense Tech Podcast explores the Pentagon's quiet shift toward reusable hypersonic flight vehicles. Lucas and Luna break down the DARPA and Air Force programs pushing for recovery and reflight of hypersonic testbeds, the cost implications versus expendable missiles, and what this means for the industrial base. They reference real market data: Northrop Grumman's stock is flat, while L3Harris and RTX show recent gains. The hosts discuss a specific May 2026 Flight Demonstration Systems contract award to Leidos and why the Defense Innovation Unit is betting on low-cost, reusable rockets for hypersonic experiments. The conversation draws a line between the commercial space reuse model and military applications, and touches on how this changes the timeline for operational hypersonic surveillance drones. #DefenseTech #Hypersonics #ReusableDrones #DARPA #AirForce #Pentagon #DefenseInnovation #Leidos #DIU #FlightDemonstration #ExpendableMissiles #Reusability #L3Harris #NorthropGrumman #RTX #DefenseContracting #Business #FexingoBusiness Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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