Partnership
Hop Aero x US Air Force (Rocket Cargo SBIR)
Hop Aero won a $1.25M Department of the Air Force (DoW) SBIR contract for rocket cargo delivery to contested environments. The contract supports development of the Rook hypersonic cargo vehicle for military logistics.
development · Active · operating
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82c63158-7871-42b4-9fd6-52574cda68de- Type
- development
- Status
- Activeoperating
- Announced
- 2026-01-018 months ago
- Active for
- 8 months
Who’s involved
Hop Aero is a [Y combinator](/companies/y-combinator) S26 startup building autonomous hypersonic cargo rockets for point-to-point delivery to contested environments. Its vehicle, Rook, delivers 250 kg (550 lbs) of cargo up to 750 km (450 miles) in approximately 15 minutes — faster than any existing transportation method. Rook launches from a standard 40-foot shipping container and lands on unprepared surfaces, requiring no runways or fixed infrastructure. The company has won a $1.25M US Air Force contract and completed tethered flight testing of its prototype.
Off-registry parties
- US Air Force · customer
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