(Washington, D.C.) The difficulties and challenges associated with hypersonic flight are very well known, as they include a need to manage the air flow, regulate heat, control guidance technology systems and sustain hypersonic speeds once they are initially achieved.
Hypersonics are progressing amazingly well, due in large measure to a massively revved up Pentagon and Air Force effort to fast-track the weapons, yet alongside this near term push is a concurrent and arguably just as significant effort to break new ground with additional paradigm-changing applications of hypersonics.
These include the eventual emergence of hypersonic drones, to be followed by recoverable hypersonic drones and, maybe someday, the idea that some kind of manned aircraft could travel at hypersonic speeds.
Project Mayhem
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has been working on engineering a new kind of advanced jet engine capable of reaching hypersonic speeds. The engine, described by The Drive as a blending between traditional jet turbines and high-speed ramjets and scramjets. The report goes on to suggest that this kind of breakthrough could be intended for Lockheed’s now developing SR-72.
The Air Force program is called Mayhem, and the service is now being focused by developers upon “expendable testbeds” for the new engines.
