The weapon was released from a BQM-34 unmanned aerial target to advance drone missile attack technology

By Kris Osborn, President, Warrior

The US Navy fired a solid fuel rocket ramjet from a demonstrator test drone to fast-track longer-range, larger payload unmanned systems weapons attack. Weapons developers with the service's Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division air-launched the ramjet from Point Mugu, Calif., explaining that advanced propulsion technologies, avionics and fire-control technologies were all integrated into a technological demonstrator in 12 months.

The weapon was released from a BQM-34 unmanned aerial target to advance drone missile attack technology.

"This successful integration validates key aspects of our design and moves us closer to delivering an advanced propulsion system that will provide warfighters with greater range and speed," Abbey Horning, product director of NAWCWD's Advanced Concepts, Prototyping and Experimentation office, said in a Navy essay.

Advanced propulsion such as this Ramjet technology has existed for quite some time, yet it is being refined and improved to enable larger payloads to travel faster at longer ranges. This is quite significant for drone attack, given that there must always be trade-offs with a number of variables such as speed, range and payload capacity; using new adaptations of ramjet propulsion can impact this equation to better optimize lethality from safer stand-off ranges.

The US military services have of course been able to fire weapons from drones for quite some time, yet new propulsion, fuel and fire-control technology can enable an unmanned system to attack with a much larger payload of explosive material at higher speeds.

Solid Fuel Integral Rocket Ramjet technology (SFIRR) is inherently more stable than liquid fuel and can enable sustained mobility over long distances.

Unlike traditional ramjet systems, which typically rely on liquid fuel and complex combustion mechanisms, the SFIRR uses a solid fuel source that acts both as a propellant and as part of the structural component of the missile. This eliminates many of the design and logistical challenges associated with handling and storing liquid fuels, particularly in combat environments.

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.