Oct 4th 2019 | Posted in Technology by Texas Government Insider

Texas A&M University System and U.S. Army Futures Command representatives announced a multi-year cooperative agreement on October 2 that will support research into new technologies.
Through the agreement, Army Futures Command will provide $65 million over five years to aid Texas A&M System researchers in focusing on several areas that advance laser and hypersonic defense systems.

U.S. Army Futures Command Gen. John Murray

The research will address hypersonic and laser weaponry; materials for withstanding hypervelocity blasts; coordinated maneuvering of air and ground vehicles; and resilient computer networks for autonomous vehicles to share real-time battlefield information. Hypersonic is speeds of Mach 5 or faster.

A combination of state and A&M funding is going toward the construction of a $130 million combat development complex at the university’s RELLIS Campus in Bryan. The Legislature approved $50 million at its last session for an Innovative Proving Ground, and the A&M System board of regents recently committed $80 million to building a Research Innovation Center.