The Department of Defense announced Monday that Texas A&M University’s Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) will establish and manage a University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH), a five-year $20 million effort to further the United State military’s advanced weapon capabilities.

“This first-of-its-kind consortium will be critical to advancing hypersonics research and innovation, a key priority of the Department of Defense,” said Michael Kratsios, acting undersecretary of defense for research and engineering in  a Department of Defense press release.

The consortium will  be a collaboration of military and federal government entities, small and large companies, and other academic research centers to “facilitate transitioning academic research into developing system.”

TEES has identified 41 institutions from at least 23 states that are committed to participating in the UCAH, in addition to institutions in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

“Importantly, through collaborative industry and academic partnerships, it will also accelerate technology transfer and strengthen workforce development to meet the nation’s future warfighting needs,” said Kratsios.

Photo by Giancarlo Casem, Air Force