Ursa Major Advances Reusable H13 Engine and Deepens Defense Ties in Hypersonics Push

Ursa Major, a private rocket propulsion company, spent the week underscoring its pivot toward defense and hypersonics through new product milestones, leadership moves, and expanded industry engagement. The company continued to position itself as a key supplier of affordable, scalable propulsion solutions for U.S. national security missions.

Ursa Major advanced its Hadley engine line with initial hot-fire tests of the new H13 variant, a mission-upgraded, hypersonic-ready liquid rocket engine. H13 is designed as an off-the-shelf platform featuring higher reusability, streamlined production, and an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle using liquid oxygen and kerosene.

CEO Christopher Spagnoletti highlighted that new materials and manufacturing approaches allow H13 to be reused more than twice as many times as earlier Hadley variants. The company expects this higher reuse rate to lower cost per flight, enable more demanding test objectives, and improve competitiveness in hypersonic testing and light launch markets.

H13 builds on a flight-proven heritage, with the broader Hadley family already supporting hypersonic missions at sustained speeds above Mach 5, including Stratolaunch’s Talon-A. Ursa Major is also insourcing major H13 components and vertically integrating additively manufactured parts, aiming to tighten cost control and increase production scalability from its Colorado and Ohio facilities.

On the commercial engagement front, Ursa Major emphasized its participation in the AFA Warfare Symposium, where it engaged with defense partners and decision makers on “mission-ready, next-gen hypersonics.” The company framed this outreach as part of a broader growth trajectory aligned with U.S. defense modernization and the need for rapidly fieldable propulsion systems.

Ursa Major also signaled plans to participate in the 2026 Pacific Operational Science & Technology Conference in Honolulu, hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The company aims to showcase its technologies and deepen relationships with defense stakeholders focused on Indo-Pacific operational priorities.

Collectively, the H13 test progress and stepped-up presence at major defense forums point to a strategy centered on reusability, cost efficiency, and closer integration with U.S. defense customers. These developments suggest a strengthening competitive position in hypersonic and launch propulsion, though financial impact will ultimately depend on follow-on contracts and execution.