Stratolaunch expands hypersonic flight test infrastructure with acquisition of Boeing 777 carrier aircraft

Stratolaunch, a leading pure-play hypersonics company, today announced it has acquired a Boeing 777-200ER, expanding Stratolaunch's fleet of carrier aircraft supporting the company's Talon-A autonomous, reusable, air-launched hypersonic flight test platforms. The addition of the Boeing 777 strengthens the company's flight test infrastructure, increasing global reach and flight capacity to address customer demand, while also enhancing the company's ability to offer additional services.

The acquisition represents another important expansion of Stratolaunch's fleet of carrier aircraft and complements the company's existing carrier assets, the Spirit of Mojave and Roc. With three carrier aircraft, Stratolaunch will be well positioned to maintain continuous launch readiness, boosting overall flight capacity by 35%.

The addition of the Boeing 777 carrier aircraft also increases the company's global deployment capabilities, supporting operations wherever needed around the world. This expanded fleet supports broader mission profiles, reduces scheduling constraints and accelerates the ability to scale flight operations, including conducting parallel missions.

"As demand for hypersonic technologies continues to grow, we're building the operational scale to make routine hypersonic testing a reality for our customers around the world," said Zachary Krevor, President and CEO of Stratolaunch. "Adding the reliability of a Boeing 777 aircraft to our fleet enhances our flight flexibility and strengthens our long-term capacity as we work to provide the nation and our customers with the test cadence needed to accelerate hypersonic innovation. We look forward to operationalizing the aircraft and expanding our capability to serve customers at the scale and speed required to address hypersonic national security needs."

The aircraft will undergo modifications to enable the air launch of Stratolaunch's reusable, fully autonomous Talon-A hypersonic test vehicles from its fuselage, with completion expected in 2027.

Stratolaunch's carrier aircraft take Talon-A to altitude before it is air-launched, effectively providing a reusable first stage for hypersonic flight. Compared with traditional ground-launch systems, this approach offers greater range, lower mission costs, flexible deployment and the ability to execute more representative real-world flight profiles.

The acquisition builds on a series of milestones achieved over the past year. In July 2026, the company announced it had surpassed more than 10 successful hypersonic flights with its Talon-A platform, following its February 2026 announcement of a $90.8M contract award under the Department of War Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) for air-launched capability test vehicles.

Together, these achievements reinforce the company's commitment to enabling faster, more affordable and more responsive hypersonic test development. Serving government and commercial customers, Stratolaunch aims to expand America's hypersonic testing infrastructure and deliver the vital flight data needed to develop next-generation technologies for national deterrence.