Texas A&M Expands Laser/Hypersonic Weapons Tests

Texas A&M recently expanded its RELLIS Campus at Bryan-College Station, Texas, with the opening of its Ballistic Aero-Optics and Materials (BAM) test range. Among its capabilities, the enclosed facility features the nation’s largest test range for laser and hypersonic weapons.

In addition to testing advanced weapons systems, the test site can evaluate materials designed to withstand hypervelocity impacts as part of efforts to develop laser and hypersonic technologies.

During a recent dedication ceremony at the campus, Lieutenant-General Miles Brown, deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Futures Command, explained the importance of the BAM for advanced weapons development: “We want to bring hope to our allies and fear to our enemies, and we can't do that without overmatch. The BAM is a perfect example of product innovation to overmatch potential adversaries in emerging technologies.”

The two technologies are considered essential ingredients for the U.S. to command superior weapons systems over its adversaries. As part of a video message outside the BAM during the same ceremony, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), explained, “We're living in dangerous times, perhaps the most dangerous since World War II. The work being done here at the George H. W. Bush Combat Development Complex will bolster our defense and strengthen our national security.”

The BAM test range helps close a gap in R&D infrastructure between the use of wind tunnels in laboratories (see image above) and open-air hypersonic testing on military bases. With a length of 0.5 km and diameter of 8 ft., the enclosed BAM site supports tightly controlled testing under realistic operating conditions.