Captive-Carry Tests Coming For Hypersonic Flying TestbedWith demand for high-speed test capability on the increase, small launch-vehicle developer Generation Orbit Launch Services is preparing for a critical series of hot-fire and captive-carry flight tests of its hypersonic flying testbed at Edwards AFB, California. The Atlanta-based company is developing the GOLauncher 1 (GO1) vehicle for suborbital research and hypersonic flight-testing, and aims to fill a gap in high-speed atmospheric test capability which has existed since the retirement of ...http://m.aviationweek.com/aircraft-design/captive-carry-tests-coming-hypersonic-flying-testbed
the development of a high-speed glide bomb for use in contingencies on such islands (10 billion yen); the development of a system to monitor space activity (4.4 billion yen).
Wonder if this line in the budget could be referencing the development of a boost-glide weapon. Interesting that they are also developing their own independent space situational awareness program as well.Quote the development of a high-speed glide bomb for use in contingencies on such islands (10 billion yen); the development of a system to monitor space activity (4.4 billion yen).http://thediplomat.com/2017/08/whats-in-japans-record-2018-defense-budget-request/
Quote from: Star One on 09/05/2017 07:58 amWonder if this line in the budget could be referencing the development of a boost-glide weapon. Interesting that they are also developing their own independent space situational awareness program as well.Quote the development of a high-speed glide bomb for use in contingencies on such islands (10 billion yen); the development of a system to monitor space activity (4.4 billion yen).http://thediplomat.com/2017/08/whats-in-japans-record-2018-defense-budget-request/If there isn't a boost phase it will basically be like the "paveway" kit fitted to conventional bombs. The "space activity monitoring" part may well integrate with the plans to deploy a version of the Aegis system ashore, along with Patriot batteries. The timing is odd as presumably all this was in the works for some time before the North Koreans sent an ICBM over their islands, which would make any country very nervous.
Wouldn't hypersonic weapons be quite attractive to the Japanese military considering the country's commitment regarding not being a nuclear military power, but still allowing them to have a one hit weapon to take out well protected targets.
Sure.. but, based on recent news events, they kinda need it now (not in several years time).
Under a very successful Phase I project with the US Air Force, Reaction Systems has identified a fuel and catalyst combination that can undergo a chemical reaction that produces much higher endotherms than currently available with kerosene-based fuels.Reaction Systems has just been notified of a Phase II award to continue development of the fuel/catalyst system and design a custom heat exchanger/reactor for use in a hypersonic engine.Reaction Systems has a novel solution to the heat transfer issue that may open the door to practical hypersonic aircraft propulsion.According to Jeff Engel, COO of Reaction system, in hypersonic flight the combustor temperature gets so high that materials can’t survive in that environment; you have to continually cool the combustor sections. They are developing a fuel system to absorb that heat load from the combustor specifically, so that the final speed of the vehicle is faster.
“Although I can’t go into specifics, let us just say the Skunk Works team in Palmdale, California, is doubling down on our commitment to speed,” says Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president of aeronautics at Lockheed Martin, speaking at the SAE International Aerotech Congress and Exhibition here.“Simply put, I believe the United States is on the verge of a hypersonics revolution,” he says.
Referencing ongoing development of the Darpa/U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Tactical Boost Glide weapon and Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept research program, the latter in competition with Raytheon, Carvalho says, “Over the last decade progress has been moving quickly, and hypersonic technology is clearly becoming apparent to everyone as a game changer. We continue to advance and test technology which will benefit hypersonic flight and are working on multiple programs, including two Darpa efforts. Speed matters, especially when it comes to national security.”
Skunk Works is believed to be planning the start of FRV development next year, with first flight targeted for 2020. The FRV will be around the same size as an F-22 and powered by a full-scale, combined-cycle engine. However, in the run-up to the demonstrator development, Lockheed is thought to be testing several discrete technologies in a series of ground and flight tests.According to information provided to Aviation Week, one such technology demonstrator, believed to be an unmanned subscale aircraft, was observed flying into the U.S. Air Force’s Plant 42 at Palmdale, where Skunk Works is headquartered. The vehicle, which was noted landing in the early hours at an unspecified date in late July, was seen with two T-38 escorts. Lockheed Martin declined to comment directly on the sighting.The company previously has said the follow-on step would be development of a full-scale, twin-engined SR-72. With roughly the same proportions as the SR-71, the larger vehicle would enter flight test in the late 2020s.“Hypersonics is like stealth. It is a disruptive technology and will enable various platforms to operate at two to three times the speed of the Blackbird,” Carvalho says. “Operational survivability and lethality is the ultimate deterrent. Security classification guidance will only allow us to say the speed is greater than Mach 5.”
Stephen Trimble @FG_STrimIn 2016, DARPA released a concept of a vehicle that would use the SR-72's propulsion system. Keep your eyes out for this, Antelope Valley.
Lets remember that the SR-71 was an intelligence gathering craft, as was the MD-21 drone launcher, and the original A-12. The only variant that was to be weaponized was the YF-12, and it was to be a high speed interceptor, presumably for defense of North America.Lets be clear that the SR-72s purpose will indeed be purely a weapons platform, defense perhaps, offensive, 100%.Maybe its just me, but using nomenclature which is identified with an intelligence gathering craft only, for a weaponized platform, could be viewed as disingenuous. She wont be taking pictures, she will be delivering a "kill shot" of some sort.It's a shame that many technologies are driven by militarization, but it is a reality as that's where the money is.Crazy interesting technologies though, wow! Palmdale is busy.
The funny thing with the SR-71 is that the -71 is kind of last line in the bomber designation system before they got back to B-1. What happened was this XB-70 Valkyrie > RS-70 > SR-71. RS-70 was a last ditch atempt by North American to rescue the B-70 as a post-strike reconnaissance aircraft. It would have smashed whatever was left standing of USSR after ICBMs rained. The RS-70 proposal was rejected but Lockheed tried to place down an A-12 variant to the Air Force and this become the SR-71.
As the U.S. steps up research and development for hypersonic weapons, DARPA has awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne a contract to demonstrate a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine that could power a reusable high-speed aircraft from takeoff to beyond Mach ...
Under the program, large-scale components of the propulsion system will first be demonstrated independently, followed by a full-scale freejet ground test of the TBCC mode transition. Accomplishing these objectives will enable future air-breathing hypersonic systems for long-range strike, high-speed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and two-stage-to-orbit space access, DARPA says.Conceptual design of a hypersonic vehicle was completed in fiscal 2017 to enable definition of the ground demonstration engine performance requirements. Plans for fiscal 2018 include beginning testing of a large-scale common inlet and full-scale DMRJ combustor, completing fabrication of the full-scale common nozzle and beginning integration of the off-the-shelf turbine engine.
The US Air Force Research Laboratory is searching for leading edge materials for reusable and expendable hypersonic vehicles to support its high speed strike weapon programme.
Air Force Materiel Command will consider thermal performance as it selects the material, according to the $2.3 million contract award to Integration Innovation posted 27 September on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Based in Huntsville, Alabama, Integration Innovation Integration has previously worked with the Defense Department and NASA on thermal protection systems supporting hypersonic vehicles.“The objective of the RX hypersonics programme is to provide a range of materials and processing options for future hypersonic vehicles,” an AFRL spokesman said in a 10 October statement to FlightGlobal.Leading edges refer to the surfaces that first come in contact at hypersonic speed with the super-heated airflow, such as as the front of the nose, wings and empennage surfaces.The USAF has proposed $31.2 million in fiscal year 2018 to focus research on high temperature aerospace materials and hypersonics. Budget documents also mention plans to improve fabrication of materials required for expendable hypersonic applications. The FY2018 budget proposal details plans for both re-usable and expendable hypersonic vehicles, including limited life intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance vehicles.
Chinese state media has shown what appears to be the first ever images of a physical test object associated with the design of the WU-14 hypersonic glide vehicle, also known as the DF-ZF. Though the two events did not appear to be related, this followed the U.S. Navy’s official disclosure that it had successfully test fired a hypersonic missile design of its own that could fit inside the standard launch tube on an Ohio-class submarine.On Oct. 8, 2017, state-run broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV, aired a special that dealt in part with the country’s JF-12 hypersonic wind tunnel. This is the largest testing setup of its kind in the world and can produce air speeds up to Mach 9 thanks to its pulse detonation engine. Interestingly, visible at one point in the presentation was a test shape that looks very similar to artist’s renderings and mockups of the DF-ZF hypersonic vehicle, which is likely the first time the Chinese government has shown an actual test article associated with the program. There are also computer-generated renderings of what appears to be a blended wing body aircraft or drone and a clip of technicians work on what could be a reentry vehicle, or a representative test shape of one, for a nuclear-armed ballistic missile.
China Shows Off Hypersonic Vehicle Test Model After US Navy Weapon TestQuote Chinese state media has shown what appears to be the first ever images of a physical test object associated with the design of the WU-14 hypersonic glide vehicle, also known as the DF-ZF. Though the two events did not appear to be related, this followed the U.S. Navy’s official disclosure that it had successfully test fired a hypersonic missile design of its own that could fit inside the standard launch tube on an Ohio-class submarine.On Oct. 8, 2017, state-run broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV, aired a special that dealt in part with the country’s JF-12 hypersonic wind tunnel. This is the largest testing setup of its kind in the world and can produce air speeds up to Mach 9 thanks to its pulse detonation engine. Interestingly, visible at one point in the presentation was a test shape that looks very similar to artist’s renderings and mockups of the DF-ZF hypersonic vehicle, which is likely the first time the Chinese government has shown an actual test article associated with the program. There are also computer-generated renderings of what appears to be a blended wing body aircraft or drone and a clip of technicians work on what could be a reentry vehicle, or a representative test shape of one, for a nuclear-armed ballistic missile.http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15828/china-shows-off-hypersonic-vehicle-test-model-after-us-navy-weapon-test