The Air Force has put a date on when Ursa Major's Draper hypersonic engine should be ready to start qualification: December 2027. The Air Force Research Laboratory exercised a $10.9 million option on the company's existing contract to keep Draper in development, Ursa Major announced on Nov. 12, 2026. The money funds work on the engine's Block 1 variant, the version intended to carry Draper from a flight-tested prototype toward a qualification program.
Draper is a storable liquid rocket engine designed for hypersonic applications. In its release, the Berthoud, Colorado, company described the engine as "our storable liquid rocket engine built for hypersonic applications" and said the option "follows the successful flights of the Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator as part of the same contract." The dollar value is modest by defense-procurement standards. The schedule it supports matters more: the work continues on the same contract rather than a new one, and the engine has a dated path toward qualification.
What the $10.9M Option Buys for Draper Block 1
Defense Daily's Cal Biesecker reported that the option will further develop the storable Draper engine so that it is ready to begin qualification in December 2027. According to Defense Daily, the Block 0 variant of Draper was proved out in two flight tests this year of the Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator (ARMD), while the contract option will mature the Block 1 variant "to an engine that’s ready for qualification," in the words of Jason Meredith, Ursa Major's president.
That split between Block 0 and Block 1 is the core of the award. Block 0 is the variant proved out on ARMD flights under the existing contract. Block 1 is the variant the option will carry toward qualification, the formal testing a weapon propulsion system typically must pass before a program can rely on it. A firm start date gives both the lab and the company a concrete engineering target over the next year.
The release did not disclose the total value of the underlying contract, its ceiling, or how many options remain. It also did not say which hypersonic missile program, if any, Draper is slated to power after qualification.
Why the Work Continues on the Same Contract After the ARMD Flights
The company framed the option as a direct continuation of the ARMD work. Because the Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator flights took place "as part of the same contract," the engine can move forward through an option exercise instead of a new solicitation. For the government, that keeps the development team, test data and contract terms in place. For Ursa Major, it means continued funding through a phase where many propulsion programs stall between a successful demonstration and a funded qualification effort.
Meredith tied the award to the company's long relationship with the lab. "Draper is at the heart of our hypersonics work, and AFRL and the United States Air Force have been partners from day one," he said in the release. He added: "This award keeps that work progressing, and it moves us closer to putting real capability in the hands of the warfighter."
The storable design is the engine's distinguishing feature. Storable liquid propellants can remain loaded in a vehicle for long periods, which lets a liquid-fueled weapon sit ready in the field in a way cryogenic systems cannot. That property is what makes a liquid engine plausible for a tactical missile, a role often filled by solid rocket motors.
How Draper Fits Ursa Major's Hypersonic Lineup
Ursa Major lists three pieces in its hypersonics portfolio. The Hadley liquid rocket engine, according to the company, "powers the DoW's hypersonic test bed." Draper is described as "the storable, tactical Draper Engine, which has flown with the Air Force Research Lab." The third is the HAVOC Missile System, which the company calls "affordable, highly capable hypersonic and long-range precision strike all-up-round." The release states that Ursa Major "has flown its hypersonic systems more than a dozen times."
Defense Daily illustrated its report with a render of HAVOC, though neither source said whether HAVOC will use Draper Block 1 as its propulsion. The company describes itself as an advanced weapons and space systems firm that supplies hypersonic and long-range munitions, solid rocket motors and space mobility systems. It is headquartered in Berthoud, Colorado, with manufacturing operations in Youngstown, Ohio, and says it uses additive manufacturing and flexible production methods "to build at the speed and scale the mission demands."
What It Means for Contractors
The Draper option illustrates a pattern that matters to propulsion suppliers and other emerging defense firms: AFRL exercised an option on an existing contract to continue development after flight demonstrations, rather than starting a separate acquisition. Companies that structure early research awards with follow-on options, and then deliver flight results inside those contracts, put themselves in position to receive continuation funding through an option exercise rather than a new competition.
The December 2027 qualification target also creates a timeline for the supply base. A storable liquid engine entering qualification will likely need test facilities, propellant handling, instrumentation and component suppliers, and the engineering work to get there runs between now and December 2027. Subcontractors in valves, turbomachinery, additive-manufactured components and test services may want to track the program's progress and Ursa Major's sourcing at its Colorado and Ohio sites.
For competitors, the award suggests continued Air Force interest in liquid propulsion for tactical hypersonic applications alongside solid rocket motors. Firms pursuing hypersonic propulsion work should watch whether AFRL or a program office names a missile that will carry Draper Block 1 once qualification begins. That decision will help determine whether the engine moves toward production funding or remains a lab-supported technology. The undisclosed contract ceiling and remaining options are also worth monitoring through future announcements, since further option exercises would indicate how much of the qualification effort is funded on this vehicle.
