Cummings Aerospace Hellhound S3 designed for accurate, long-range strikes against armored targets.
A turbojet-powered loitering munition, also known as a suicide drone or kamikaze drone, has completed a demonstration at a U.S. Army test range. Developed by Cummings Aerospace, the Hellhound S3 is notable for combining 3D printing with commercial components for reduced production costs.
The unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is designed to equip the Army’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams with the ability to deliver accurate, long-range strikes against tanks, armored vehicles and fortified positions. According to Cummings, the drone achieved a speed of 384 mph during a series of tests in early January.
The demonstration, which occurred at Fort Moore, Georgia earlier this year, involved a GPS-guided tactical mission using an inert warhead. The company reports that all primary mission objects were met, with the airframe and key subsystems revalidated at Technology Readiness Level 7 (TRL-7). The demonstration follows 12 previous flight tests conducted on the Hellhound airframe over the past two years to establish the system’s core capabilities.
Cummings claims the entire system – vehicle, launch canister, and ground control system – weighs less than 25 pounds, making it deployable by a single soldier, who can also field-swap payloads without the need for tools in less than five minutes.
In the near future, Cummings plans to conduct additional flights tests of the Hellhound S3 to bring the entire system to TRL-7 and submit a proposal formally offering the system to the Army’s Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordinance (LASSO) program. The company also intends to conduct further demonstrations and tests for other (unnamed) customers.
“Hellhound’s performance at AEWE 2025 highlighted a fundamental reality — speed matters, and quadcopters and prop-driven drones take too long to get downrange,” said Sheila Cummings, CEO of Cummings Aerospace in a press release. “While quadcopters and propeller-driven drones will still be puttering along behind friendly lines, Hellhound will already be over the target area, giving IBCTs [Infantry Brigade Combat Teams] the ability to strike faster, reach deeper into the battlespace, and decisively engage fleeting, time-sensitive targets.”
