Aerojet Rocketdyne has been selected by @LockheedMartin to power an advanced solid rocket motor booster for the second stage of @DARPA’s hypersonic weapon system, known as Operational Fires or OpFires. #Hypersonics #PoweringDefenseMore https://okt.to/tu9Rs0
Darkstar, the fictional secret hypersonic jet from the hotly anticipated new Top Gun: Maverick film, set to release May 27, might just be a whole lot more realistic than we previously thought. The chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation, James Taiclet, has confirmed that the company's legendary Skunk Works advanced projects division worked with the producers of the movie and helped create the fictional design.The War Zone had reached out to Skunk Works directly regarding this collaboration. They would not comment directly but subsequently directed us to a post that Taiclet made on LinkedIn following the world premiere preview showing of the movie at the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Station North Island's Lowry Theater in San Diego, California, this week. Taiclet said that members of the Skunk Works team had “partnered with Top Gun’s producers to bring cutting-edge, future forward technology to the big screen” before referencing “critical work in hypersonic flight.”
Quote Darkstar, the fictional secret hypersonic jet from the hotly anticipated new Top Gun: Maverick film, set to release May 27, might just be a whole lot more realistic than we previously thought. The chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation, James Taiclet, has confirmed that the company's legendary Skunk Works advanced projects division worked with the producers of the movie and helped create the fictional design.The War Zone had reached out to Skunk Works directly regarding this collaboration. They would not comment directly but subsequently directed us to a post that Taiclet made on LinkedIn following the world premiere preview showing of the movie at the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Station North Island's Lowry Theater in San Diego, California, this week. Taiclet said that members of the Skunk Works team had “partnered with Top Gun’s producers to bring cutting-edge, future forward technology to the big screen” before referencing “critical work in hypersonic flight.”https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/skunk-works-helped-create-the-darkstar-jet-for-top-gun-maverick
WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in a bid to mature its scramjet-powered hypersonic weapon program, is seeking $60 million in its fiscal 2023 budget for the next phase of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept.The new-start program, dubbed MoHAWC, is a successor to HAWC, developed jointly with the Air Force using Raytheon and Lockheed Martin as prime contractors. Both companies conducted successful test flights of their vehicles, with Raytheon’s flying in September and Lockheed’s in March. The HAWC vehicles are powered by scramjet engines designed to offer better, more efficient performance at hypersonic speeds. Northrop Grumman built the propulsion system for Raytheon’s HAWC vehicle and Aerojet provided Lockheed’s.
Quote WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in a bid to mature its scramjet-powered hypersonic weapon program, is seeking $60 million in its fiscal 2023 budget for the next phase of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept.The new-start program, dubbed MoHAWC, is a successor to HAWC, developed jointly with the Air Force using Raytheon and Lockheed Martin as prime contractors. Both companies conducted successful test flights of their vehicles, with Raytheon’s flying in September and Lockheed’s in March. The HAWC vehicles are powered by scramjet engines designed to offer better, more efficient performance at hypersonic speeds. Northrop Grumman built the propulsion system for Raytheon’s HAWC vehicle and Aerojet provided Lockheed’s.https://www.defensenews.com/battlefield-tech/2022/05/09/darpa-maturing-scramjet-powered-hypersonic-weapon-concept-through-follow-on-program/
In #hypersonics, when every second counts, additive manufacturing (3D printing) can shorten manufacturing timelines, make products more affordable and enable new approaches to design.Learn more about Aerojet Rocketdyne’s advancements in Additive Manufacturing ➡ rocket.com/3D
The test marked the fastest recovery of a monorail sled in over 30 years, and the first time a planned reusable sled was ever recovered at those speeds. The test paves the way for more hypersonic weapons testing.
A flight test of a hypersonic missile system in Hawaii ended in failure due to a problem that took place after ignition, the Department of Defense said, delivering a fresh blow to a program that has suffered stumbles.It didn’t provide further details of what took place in the Wednesday test, but said in a statement sent by email “the Department remains confident that it is on track to field offensive and defensive hypersonic capabilities on target dates beginning in the early 2020s.”
Last week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) quietly unveiled a new high-speed missile program called Gambit. The program is meant to leverage a novel method of propulsion that could have far-reaching implications not just in terms of weapons development, but for high-speed aircraft and even in how the Navy’s warships are powered.This propulsion system, known as a rotation detonation engine (RDE), has the potential to be lighter than existing jet engines while offering a significant boost in power output, range, and fuel efficiency.The Gambit missile is just one of a number of programs placing a renewed focus on RDE technology, though for the most part, these systems have managed to fly under the media’s radar. That is, except for Aviation Week & Space Technology Defense Editor Steve Trimble, who has covered these recent developments at length. Trimble was kind enough to discuss that work with me as I sought to better understand just how big a deal this technology could be.
MD-22 hypersonic demonstrator:https://twitter.com/jesusfroman/status/1589166708203618304
China has unveiled air-launched versions of its ship-based hypersonic missile and a standoff cruise missile at the Zhuhai Airshow, going on this week in the southern Guangdong province near Taiwan.A pair of air-launched hypersonic missiles carried under the wings of a Xi’an H-6K bomber were at the show, which opened Tuesday and runs through Nov. 13.
Transition from turbojet to ramjet demonstrated repeatedly, de-risking technology central to hypersonic aircraft
Chimera is a turbine-based combined cycle engine (TBCC) – which basically means it’s a hybrid between a turbojet and a ramjet. The ability to switch between these two modes allows Hermeus’ first aircraft, Quarterhorse, to take off from a regular runway and then accelerate up to high-Mach speeds.The cost and speed at which the Hermeus team achieved this milestone is notable. Hermeus designed, built, and tested Chimera in 21 months for $18 million.
Hermeus has selected the Pratt & Whitney F100 turbofan to integrate into its larger hypersonic engine. Securing an off-the-shelf turbine engine will save Hermeus billions of dollars in research and development costs and years of schedule.Pratt & Whitney’s F100 turbofan, which is used in the F-15 and F-16 aircraft, will act as the turbine portion of Hermeus’ turbine-based combined cycle engine named Chimera II.
