RKLBRocket Lab’s rockets just found a bigger paycheck
Rocket Lab says it won a $30 million contract from Anduril Industries for multiple hypersonic test flights using its HASTE launch vehicle. Translation: the company is doing more than launching cute little satellites into orbit — it’s getting pulled deeper into the defense world, where the budgets are bigger and the mission is a lot less “science project,” a lot more “national security.”
Why hypersonics matter
Hypersonic testing is one of those buzzwords that sounds like it belongs in a Marvel sequel, but the business logic is pretty straightforward. Governments and defense contractors are racing to build systems that can move at Mach 5 and beyond, and Rocket Lab is positioning HASTE as the ride of choice for that work.
A few investor takeaways:
- The customer here is Anduril, a rising defense tech player with plenty of Pentagon-adjacent ambition.
- The mission is hypersonic test flights, which tends to mean repeatable demand rather than a single flashy launch.
- It adds another feather to Rocket Lab’s defense-business cap, which can help diversify it beyond the usual space-launch roller coaster.
Big picture
For RKLB, the headline isn’t just the $30 million. It’s the signal that the company is carving out a niche in a part of aerospace where demand can be sticky, strategic, and potentially very lucrative. In other words: less “launch day vibes,” more “real customer with real urgency.”