Hydis project passes final concept review but faces uncertain future as only one European hypersonic interceptor program will receive 2026 funding

The Hydis project settled on a concept based on a solid-propellant rocket motor after its steering committee validated the final concept review milestone on Friday, Defense News reported. The remaining year of the program will focus on advancing critical technologies to at least Technology Readiness Level 3, which corresponds to experimental proof of concept.

OCCAR, which manages the program on behalf of France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, said the four countries validated the most promising interceptor concept proposed by the Hydis industrial consortium.

The interceptor will be designed to defeat threats including hypersonic glide vehicles, hypersonic cruise missiles and maneuvering ballistic missiles. The concept was assessed against threat models developed by Italy’s Centro Italiano di Ricerca Aerospaziale, France’s Onera and Dutch technology institute TNO.

The final concept review focused specifically on the terminal phase of interception by the kill vehicle.

Hydis is one of two European projects to develop a counter against hypersonic threats. It competes with the Hydef program led by Germany’s Diehl Defence and coordinated by Spain’s SMS Sistemas de Misiles de España. The European Defence Fund plans to allocate €100 million for an endo-atmospheric interceptor as part of its 2026 work program, with only one of the two proposals to be funded.

The EDF has provided €80 million in funding for the three-year Hydis program, with the four partner countries jointly providing around €60 million. The largest share of EDF funds for Hydis has gone to MBDA, with more than €60 million allocated across seven MBDA entities.