The Hellhound S3 UAS from Cummings Aerospace offers multiple payload options, with more to come
One of the biggest stories to emerge from the war in Ukraine is how Ukrainian industry is using 3D printing, sensors, and warheads to transform small hobbyist drones into combat-ready weapons and surveillance systems to counter the Russian invaders.
The Pentagon has taken note, announcing plans to rapidly field thousands of drones as it prepares for a potential conflict with China. At the same time, the U.S. Army has begun integrating small unmanned systems into Infantry Brigade Combat Teams.
In response, Alabama-based defense and engineering firm Cummings Aerospace has developed the Hellhound S3 drone to strengthen the capabilities of U.S. and allied warfighters.
The S3, designed to compete for the U.S. Army’s upcoming Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program—expected to launch in spring 2025—is a lightweight, vertically launched, man-portable kamikaze drone.
A member of the Hellhound family of systems developed by Cummings Aerospace, it is built by additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, and will use Department of Defense-approved commercial off-the-shelf materials as well as DOD-compliant open architecture.
Hellhound also offers something unique among its competitors: an interchangeable, twist-and-lock nose that gives the Soldier the ability to meet the ever-evolving complexity of the battlespace by switching between a warhead, Electronic Warfare, or Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) payload.
“It truly is plug and play, and there’s no tools required,” Cummings Aerospace Executive Vice President Kelly Francis said.
Cummings Aerospace considered several military needs as it developed Hellhound’s payload. The system had to be available for a single user—a Soldier—but that Soldier’s needs, as well as the mission, could change fast. The solution would have to adapt “on the fly,” Francis said. With the use of an interchangeable nose section, ISR and EW use would not come at the expense of a warhead and by requiring no tools, changing the payload out is simple, with no technical knowledge required.
“This gives them lots of different tricks in their tool bag depending on what the mission requires. You can’t predict exactly what you’re going to need in terms of payload and sensor package. You can’t fit all of those in a single nose,” Francis said. “Now they have a variety to choose from, and each one only weighs three pounds or less, so they could carry many of these front ends with them and just swap them out in the field.”
Situational awareness can mean life or death on the front lines, and time is a valuable resource on the battlefield. Hellhound’s nose section takes less than ten seconds to change out, and it makes the vehicle smaller and easier to carry when removed, said Cummings’ Chief Engineer Chuck Wright, who designed the system, which fits into a launch canister that doubles as the drone’s carrying case. Like the rest of its body, Hellhound’s twist-and-lock payload is 3D-printed and fitted with spring contacts that connect the electronics to the rest of the vehicle.
“You just insert it and give it a quarter turn,” Wright said of the lock-and-load design.
Cummings, a Native American, woman-owned small business, is also developing Hellhound’s swarming technologies, including vehicle-to-vehicle communications as well as command and control, adding to the drone’s flexibility. The number of Hellhound drones on hand, Francis adds, does not have to deter the mission.
“You could absolutely have a swarm of Hellhounds, some doing an ISR mission and some doing a kinetic mission,” Francis said. “But, if you don’t have the right mix when you arrive in the field, then you can reconfigure the mix that you have.”
Like its interchangeable nose design, Hellhound is fast, too. During recent flight tests, Hellhound hit speeds above 380 mph.
The company, whose employees come with a range of experiences within the defense industry, including helping the Air Force to develop its Weapons Open Systems Architecture (WOSA) standards and compliance methodologies, is in the process of maturing Hellhound’s Engineering and Manufacturing Development.
Cummings has multiple DOD-approved payload suppliers, making them easier and less expensive to acquire as well as to scale up, Francis said. The company is also working with industry, developing new partnerships to add solutions for additional customers, including potential use by the Navy, Air Force and US Special Operations Command. By using open system architecture compliance, Hellhound is designed to integrate with a variety of payloads.
“It’s turned out to be a great solution,” Francis said.