Hypersonic

A major player in aerospace innovation has bitten the dust. Reaction Engines, a developer of hypersonic engine technology since 1989, has gone into administration and its closure is having an impact on the hypersonic weapons program of Britain and others.

When is an empty tube not an empty tube? When it's a ramjet that uses rotating detonation technology to propel aircraft at hypersonic speeds. A case in point is Venus Aerospace's new Venus Detonation Ramjet 2000 lb Thrust Engine (VDR2).

Aerospace startup Dawn Aerospace has made a major advance in its push to create a highly reusable spaceplane. The latest test flight reached transonic speeds of Mach 0.92 and an altitude of 50,000 ft (15,000 m), or 3 times and 5 times, respectively, better than before.

Lockheed Martin has released more details about its Mako hypersonic missile that the company is building for the US Air Force and international customers. The multi-mission missile that flies at Mach 5+ can be launched from a wide variety of aircraft.

The US Army is pushing for full deployment of its first hypersonic missiles, with its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon Battery taking part in Exercise Resolute Hunter 24-2 at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada along with forces from the Five Eyes alliance.

China has just made another move on the hypersonic missile war game board. An incredibly accurate laser-based radar system has been announced that would be able to track objects ripping through the sky at over four miles per second.

Hypersonic aircraft will need hypersonic engines. With that goal in mind, Ursa Major under a US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contract has conducted a series of hotfire tests of its advanced Draper liquid-fuel rocket engine at its Berthoud, Colorado headquarters.

Hermeus has stolen another quick march on its way to building a hypersonic aircraft as it begins testing its proprietary precooler on a Pratt & Whitney F100 jet engine that will be installed in the company's Quarterhorse Mk 2 prototype.

Fast-tracking the hypersonic era, Hermeus has rolled out the next prototype of its program, to create a family of aircraft that can fly beyond Mach 5. The Quarterhorse Mk 1 is set to fly later this year, testing its high-speed takeoffs and landings.

The US Air Force has completed testing of its hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon. The test was carried out on March 17, 2024 when the missile was dropped from a B-52H Stratofortress at the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands.

A revolutionary alternative to conventional rockets that uses controlled explosions has completed its first long-duration engine test as part of Venus Aerospace's partnership with DARPA to develop a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine.

Stratolaunch Systems, the company behind the world's largest aircraft, is making headlines again. The firm's Talon-A1 hypersonic test aircraft has successfully completed its first powered flight, which took place last weekend in Mojave, California.