Cummings teases armor-busting warhead for 3D-printed drone

Colin Demarest

A man in a dark blue polo shirt works on a gray rocket-like device on a table inside a large hangar, with a big American flag hanging in the background. — A man handles Hellhound munitions. Photo: Courtesy of Cummings Aerospace

Cummings Aerospace successfully tested an anti-armor warhead for its Hellhound S3, a 3D-printed weapon that blurs the line between drone and missile.

Why it matters: The Pentagon is hungry for cheap, smart munitions.

This internally funded trial sets the Huntsville-based company up for future military demonstrations and exercises.

What they're saying: Hellhound's interchangeable payloads — including previously advertised decoys and blast fragmentation — provide troops "more 'tooth' in the field and reduces the logistics 'tail,'" according to CEO Sheila Cummings.

This recent test, though, "was all about giving the warfighter affordable anti-armor lethality at scale."

By the numbers: The Hellhound S3 is about 3 feet long, weighs 25-37 pounds depending on the module used, and is vertically launched. It's turbojet powered and has hit speeds in excess of 380 mph.

A beefier version, the Hellhound S4, is almost 5 feet long and comes in at 45 pounds. (It's been pitched for Golden Dome.)

Go deeper: For the Pentagon's drone push, the "factory is the weapon"

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Cummings teases armor-busting warhead for 3D-printed drone

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