DAYTON, Ohio. Leidos completed the conceptual design review and the system requirements review for the Mayhem air-breathing hypersonic system, a project under the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the company announced in a statement.
A hypersonic test bed built by Kratos took its first flight last month, launching experiments for the Missile Defense Agency and hitting speeds above Mach 5.MDA announced the successful flight of its first Hypersonic Testbed, HTB-1, June 14, which took off from Wallops Island in Virginia. Not only did it provide a high-speed test platform for the agency, but it allowed its two missile tracking satellites — launched in February and designed to detect advanced threats — to catch their first tracks of a hypersonic vehicle.
GE Aerospace announced today the successful demonstration of a new, cutting-edge hypersonic dual-mode ramjet. This achievement – which could enable high-speed flight and longer range across numerous multi-mission aircraft – represents the most recent milestone in a diverse portfolio of hypersonic programs.The dual-mode ramjet began testing in March of this year in the clean air, continuous flow, high-speed propulsion testing facility in Evendale, OH, just 11 months after the launch of the design effort. The testing delivered promising results, exceeding performance expectations and demonstrating robust operation of a dual-mode ramjet with a threefold (3X) increase in airflow compared to previously flight-tested hypersonic technology demonstrators."The rapid progression from design to testing underscores our commitment to driving innovation in hypersonic technologies,” said Amy Gowder, president and CEO of Defense & Systems at GE Aerospace. “This milestone not only shows the exceptional talent and dedication of our team but also reaffirms our position as a leader in the pursuit of hypersonic flight."The successful development and testing of the dual-mode ramjet in such a short period of time was made possible through the collaboration of GE Aerospace’s team of engineers, Innoveering – a company acquired by GE Aerospace in 2022 that specializes in hypersonic propulsion – and GE Aerospace’s Research Center.“The technology’s robust performance paves the way for the next phase of development, which will focus on continued testing and technology demonstration in alignment with our roadmap for integrated high-speed propulsion solutions,” said Mark Rettig, vice president & general manager of Edison Works Business & Technology Development at GE Aerospace.
Lockheed Martin's hypersonic spy plane, the SR-72, may be in production in secret, emerging evidence suggestshttps://www.businessinsider.com/lockheed-potentially-developing-sr72-hypersonic-spy-plane-secret-2024-8
Now, a new engine designed by engineers at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China is building off the success of these types of engines, but introducing a high-speed rotor to further stabilize the detonation. It’s called a ram-rotor detonation engine (RRDE), and its creators hope that it will overcome some of the shortcomings of a typical RDE—poor thrust continuity, high starting Mach numbers (meaning it operates better at super and hypersonic speeds than at subsonic speeds), and poor performance gains, for instance.
The RRDE works by using a spinning rotor with blades in a stationary casing. The blades—which are distributed evenly—handle the compression, detonation combustion, and expansion in the channel between them. According to New Atlas, this allows the engine to achieve “higher thermodynamic efficiency by capitalizing on the extreme pressures and temperatures of detonation in a way no traditional ramjet engine can.”
A Dazzling New Detonation Engine Could Ignite Hypersonic Travelhttps://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a63120790/ram-rotor-detonation-engine/
Cummings Aerospace has signed a new agreement with propulsion specialist ATRX to rapidly design and develop affordable supersonic and hypersonic unmanned systems, company executives told Breaking Defense ahead of this week’s announcement.The deal will see Cummings build out large-scale versions of its Hellhound UAS, equipped with ATRX’s Air Turbo Rocket (ATR) to undertake subsonic, supersonic and ultimately hypersonic flight tests.
QuoteCummings Aerospace has signed a new agreement with propulsion specialist ATRX to rapidly design and develop affordable supersonic and hypersonic unmanned systems, company executives told Breaking Defense ahead of this week’s announcement.The deal will see Cummings build out large-scale versions of its Hellhound UAS, equipped with ATRX’s Air Turbo Rocket (ATR) to undertake subsonic, supersonic and ultimately hypersonic flight tests.https://breakingdefense.com/2025/02/cummings-atrx-team-to-develop-hypersonic-drones/
"It is vital for US interests that the government continues to fund efforts to maintain America’s economic competitiveness and national security," Sassie Duggleby said. "Hypersonics is one of the critical technologies to remain ahead of our national competitors. We’re fortunate to have robust interest from both government and commercial sectors."Sassie Duggleby said Venus cannot disclose specific customers yet."We're actively engaged with US defense and national security agencies as well as commercial partners exploring hypersonic applications in logistics, aerospace, and future mobility—including large primes," she said. "The enthusiasm we’re seeing reflects a broad recognition that Venus’s technology can unlock new operational and economic possibilities across multiple markets."
