AFRL exercises $10.9M Ursa Major option for Draper hypersonic engine
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BERTHOUD – November 12, 2026 -- The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has exercised a $10.9 million option on Ursa Major's contract to continue development of Draper, a storable liquid rocket engine for hypersonic applications. The option follows successful flights of the Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator, which flew under the same contract.
The order of events is the signal for contractors and investors: AFRL committed the additional funds after the demonstrator flights, not before them.
Ursa Major did not disclose the base contract value, so the share of total funding that this option represents cannot be calculated.