Air War 2050 – Air Force Research Lab Achieves Air-Launched Hypersonic Missile Live Fire Breakthrough

Video Above: Air War in 2050 – Air Force Research Lab Commander, Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

Current Air Force Research Laboratory “basic research” is already beginning to shape the materials and configurations likely to inform hypersonic weapons construction in the coming decades, as far away as 10 or 20 years. … while also generating near-term results leading to a first-of-its-kind breakthrough firing of the hypersonic Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon from a B-52.

Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon

Ongoing basic research experiments with the realm of possibility with the aim of uncovering breakthrough or “disruptive” technologies able to change the paradigm for future war. Although of course AFRL innovators often harvest for near-term applications when possible, current research in the areas such as the exploration of new composite materials, weapons shapes and configurations, thermal management and efforts to manage the air-flow or “boundary layer” surrounding hypersonic flight are all beginning to show promise.

Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle, Commanding General of the Air Force Research Lab told Warrior in a special conversation that their scientists are now intensely focuses upon basic research in the realm of hypersonics, with a specific mind to finding paradigm-changing materials, guidance systems and explosives. Much of the collaborative efforts, Pringle explained, involve key partnerships between the AFRL and allied nations, industry collaborators and academic partnerships with universities.

For instance, should the “air flow” surrounding a hypersonic projectile be “laminar” or smooth, the weapon is more likely to stay on course to its target at speeds five times the speed of sound. However, turbulent air flow can cause molecules to move in the immediate area surrounding the weapons, and greatly impact temperatures needed to sustain hypersonic flight. One of the large reasons there is so much exploration of new composite materials is that scientists continue to search for newer, more heat resistant combinations of chemicals, composites and materials to increase the probability that a hypersonic weapon can sustain its trajectory or even adjust in flight to hit moving targets.

As part of this effort, the AFRL is partnered with NASA, Australia and various university partners.