Cummings Aerospace uses 3D printing to speed Hellhound S3 upgrades after extended-range drone test
Cummings Aerospace said its Hellhound S3 loitering munition flew more than 30 km in a recent test and landed with over half its fuel still on board. The result suggests the man-portable drone could exceed 60 km in maximum range, giving the company a stronger case for a low-cost, rapidly adaptable system aimed at strike and counter-UAS missions.
The flight took place on Sept. 18 at the Pendleton UAS Range in Oregon as part of an ongoing campaign to validate the aircraft across different speeds and flight profiles. During the test, Hellhound S3 flew tight figure-eight patterns over a designated target area, carried an inert warhead, reached speeds of 80 meters per second, and completed all primary objectives before engineers ended data collection.
The company said the program relies on 3D printing and a modular open-systems architecture to shorten the design cycle. That lets engineers revise the air vehicle quickly using test results and soldier feedback, while also lowering production costs, simplifying logistics, and supporting faster manufacturing with commercially available components approved for U.S. military use.
Hellhound S3 is designed as a Group 1 unmanned aircraft system that a single soldier can carry and deploy, with the full round, launch canister, and ground control system weighing under 25 pounds. Cummings says the drone has a documented top speed of 384 miles per hour, can swap between warhead, electronic warfare, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads in under two minutes without tools, and is intended to engage both traditional loitering munition targets and larger Group 2 and Group 3 drones, including threats in the Shahed class.
The company said the system has reached Technology Readiness Level 7 and Manufacturing Readiness Level 7, indicating operationally realistic performance and established production processes. Further flight tests will focus on automatic target recognition, hunter-killer concepts of operation, and additional demonstrations for U.S. Army and defense customers, steps that could shape Hellhound S3 into a more flexible and affordable option in a market increasingly defined by range, speed, and rapid iteration.