Kratos Defense will utilize the Hermeus high-speed Quarterhorse aircraft as part of its support work for the U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency’s Multi-Service Advanced Capabilities Hypersonic Testbed (MACH-TB) program. The rapid expansion of the Kratos Defense hypersonic test team follows the award of a $1.45 billion contract in January 2025 to support the MACH-TB …
Venus Aerospace has made the most efficient rocket engines ever flown. They will go from runway to mach 9 hypersonic speed. The Venus Aerospace Stargazer M4 is designed to reach a top speed of Mach 9, which is approximately 6,900 mph. While its cruise speed is planned to be around Mach 4-5, the engine combination …
The Dark Eagle, Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), is a road-mobile system capable of striking targets up to 1,700 miles away. Each battery has eight missiles on mobile trucks. This setup allows for quick deployment and fast strikes. The US Military is deploying the first missile battery. The LRHW is a road-mobile and air-transportable weapon system, …
DARPA and the US Air Force have started the High Mach Gas Turbine (HMGT) program to develop reusable hypersonic planes. The core technology revolves around Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) propulsion systems, which integrate turbine engines for low-to-mid speeds with airbreathing components or hypersonic mach 5+ speeds. Engine Architecture and Subsystems: Development of a complete …
GE had a successful Mach 2.2 captive flight of solid fuel ramjet on F-104 which demonstrated throttleable thrust for evasive, long-range munitions. GE tested atmospheric test of launched airbreathing system (ATLAS) Flight Test Vehicle which marking a major milestone in advancing solid fuel ramjet (SFRJ) propulsion technology. Solid fuel ramjets represent a pivotal advancement in …
China (via SCMP – South China Morning Post) is developing a carrier plane that will launch shorter range hypersonic drones. The planes would likely be subsonic but would launch the drones that will eventually be able to go over mach 5. China is looking at scissor wing technology (which the US examined in the 1970s) …
Andrew Duggleby, co-founder and CTO of Venus Aerospace, discusses their groundbreaking propulsion technology. They have a ramjet integrated with a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) which they call the Venus Detonation Ramjet (VDR2). This will enable hypersonic flight (up to Mach 6-10) from conventional runways, with emphasis on efficiency, challenges, and innovations. It could also …
Venus Aerospace has not publicly released detailed specific impulse (ISP) data for their Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) or the VDR2 (a rocket-based combined cycle engine integrating RDRE with ramjet modes) across Mach speeds. However, based on their claims of 10-15% efficiency gains over conventional rocket engines, partnerships with NASA and DARPA, and general RDRE …
There have been published papers by the Air Force Research Lab and NASA on rotating detonation engines having 10% or more efficiency gains. A rotating detonation engine (RDE) uses a form of pressure gain combustion, where one or more detonations continuously travel around an annular channel. Computational simulations and experimental results have shown that the …
Rotating Detonation Engines (RDE) have been flown by Venus Aerospace. They use continuous detonation waves for propulsion and provide 15% efficiency gains (in specific impulse or fuel consumption) over traditional deflagrative engines. They could potential provide for 25-30% or more efficiency when hybridized with air-breathing systems for hypersonic applications. A past gain of 15-30% gain …
Stratolaunch built and operates the world’s largest airplane by wingspan. It is the twin-fuselage Roc, which serves as an air-launch platform for reusable hypersonic vehicles. Their primary focus is on developing, launching, and repeatedly flying the Talon-A family of autonomous, rocket-powered hypersonic testbeds, as well as advancing larger and more ambitious vehicles for commercial and …