SR-71 replacement
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Looks more like a money making machine than a war making machine......
AW&ST: Boeing Unveils Hypersonic ‘Son-Of-Blackbird’ Contender
ORLANDO, Florida—Amid continuing signs of a significant upswing in U.S. hypersonic research and development, Boeing has revealed first details of a reusable Mach 5-plus demonstrator vehicle design that could pave the way for a future high-speed strike and reconnaissance aircraft...... If the concept is selected for full-scale development, Boeing envisions a two-step process beginning with flight tests of an F-16-sized, single-engine proof-of-concept precursor vehicle leading to a twin-engine, full-scale operational vehicle with about the same dimensions as the 107-ft.-long SR-71.
The concept model was unveiled at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech forum here. Speaking to Aerospace DAILY on the sidelines of the show, Bowcutt says the twin-tail, waverider configuration continues to evolve but is already representative of a feasible hypersonic design. “It’s a really hard problem to develop an aircraft that takes off and accelerates through Mach 1 all the way to Mach 5 and beyond. The specific impulse of an air breathing engine goes down with increasing velocity, so you have to make the engine bigger to get to Mach 5. But doing that means a bigger inlet and a bigger nozzle, and trying to get that through Mach 1 is harder.” But Bowcutt says careful integration of the airframe and propulsion system through multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO), a process in which designers incorporate all relevant disciplines simultaneously, has enabled Boeing to develop a working configuration. MDO was used to finalize the design of the X-51A Waverider Which was the first vehicle to demonstrate sustained air-breathing hypersonic flight.
Although initially independently funded by Boeing, development of the hypersonic vehicle concept is continuing under Darpa’s Advanced Full Range Engine (AFRE) initiative and a closely-related turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) flight demonstration concept study run by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. Boeing’s engine partner for the concept is Orbital ATK, which in September 2017 was awarded a $21.4 million contract for the AFRE program. Boeing began work on the AFRL TBCC flight demonstrator concept study, with Orbital ATK as a subcontractor, in 2016.
The vehicle configuration is dominated by the TBCC propulsion system, which combines conventional turbine engines with dual-mode ramjets/scramjets (DMRJ). The turbine engines operate up to a sufficiently high Mach number to enable transition to the DMRJ. The engines will share a common inlet and nozzle, with the turbine cocooned after transition and then restarted once the hypersonic vehicle slows down for return to a runway landing. The inlets are divided by a prominent septum derived from the XB-70, Bowcutt says, adding that the TBCC is only one of a number of potential propulsion options. The nozzles also are separated by a prominent boat-tail divider.
“The propulsion system determines the length of the vehicle,” says Tom Smith, Boeing Research and Technology chief hypersonic aircraft designer. Although Boeing declines to discuss specific aspects of the design, the broad inlets and wide lower fuselage-mounted nacelle suggest the turbine and DMRJ in each TBCC engine are housed side-by-side rather than arranged in an over-under configuration.
The inward-turning inlets are positioned to capture the initial shockwave from the nose of the vehicle, while the sharply swept forebody chines are contoured into the relatively large-span delta wing to provide waveriding capability at hypersonic speed and sufficient lift for landing and takeoff at subsonic speed. The term waverider refers to a design in which the vehicle rides the shockwave attached to the leading edge, thus benefiting from lower induced drag. “As the narrow chine transitions to the wing, that produces a good vortex, which you care about at low speed,” Smith says.
AW&ST: Boeing Unveils Hypersonic ‘Son-Of-Blackbird’ Contender
ORLANDO, Florida—Amid continuing signs of a significant upswing in U.S. hypersonic research and development, Boeing has revealed first details of a reusable Mach 5-plus demonstrator vehicle design that could pave the way for a future high-speed strike and reconnaissance aircraft...... If the concept is selected for full-scale development, Boeing envisions a two-step process beginning with flight tests of an F-16-sized, single-engine proof-of-concept precursor vehicle leading to a twin-engine, full-scale operational vehicle with about the same dimensions as the 107-ft.-long SR-71.
The concept model was unveiled at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech forum here. Speaking to Aerospace DAILY on the sidelines of the show, Bowcutt says the twin-tail, waverider configuration continues to evolve but is already representative of a feasible hypersonic design. “It’s a really hard problem to develop an aircraft that takes off and accelerates through Mach 1 all the way to Mach 5 and beyond. The specific impulse of an air breathing engine goes down with increasing velocity, so you have to make the engine bigger to get to Mach 5. But doing that means a bigger inlet and a bigger nozzle, and trying to get that through Mach 1 is harder.” But Bowcutt says careful integration of the airframe and propulsion system through multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO), a process in which designers incorporate all relevant disciplines simultaneously, has enabled Boeing to develop a working configuration. MDO was used to finalize the design of the X-51A Waverider Which was the first vehicle to demonstrate sustained air-breathing hypersonic flight.
Although initially independently funded by Boeing, development of the hypersonic vehicle concept is continuing under Darpa’s Advanced Full Range Engine (AFRE) initiative and a closely-related turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) flight demonstration concept study run by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. Boeing’s engine partner for the concept is Orbital ATK, which in September 2017 was awarded a $21.4 million contract for the AFRE program. Boeing began work on the AFRL TBCC flight demonstrator concept study, with Orbital ATK as a subcontractor, in 2016.
The vehicle configuration is dominated by the TBCC propulsion system, which combines conventional turbine engines with dual-mode ramjets/scramjets (DMRJ). The turbine engines operate up to a sufficiently high Mach number to enable transition to the DMRJ. The engines will share a common inlet and nozzle, with the turbine cocooned after transition and then restarted once the hypersonic vehicle slows down for return to a runway landing. The inlets are divided by a prominent septum derived from the XB-70, Bowcutt says, adding that the TBCC is only one of a number of potential propulsion options. The nozzles also are separated by a prominent boat-tail divider.
“The propulsion system determines the length of the vehicle,” says Tom Smith, Boeing Research and Technology chief hypersonic aircraft designer. Although Boeing declines to discuss specific aspects of the design, the broad inlets and wide lower fuselage-mounted nacelle suggest the turbine and DMRJ in each TBCC engine are housed side-by-side rather than arranged in an over-under configuration.
The inward-turning inlets are positioned to capture the initial shockwave from the nose of the vehicle, while the sharply swept forebody chines are contoured into the relatively large-span delta wing to provide waveriding capability at hypersonic speed and sufficient lift for landing and takeoff at subsonic speed. The term waverider refers to a design in which the vehicle rides the shockwave attached to the leading edge, thus benefiting from lower induced drag. “As the narrow chine transitions to the wing, that produces a good vortex, which you care about at low speed,” Smith says.
The UK bought the F-35 for two carriers it did not have as I recall with a resulting race to see if the ships or the aircraft are the last to be delivered.
Is that Boeing design a manned aircraft - or just rather a quick drone?
If Boeing's development skills for the KC-46A Pigosaurus are anything to go by, it'll be years before that hypersonic demonstrator takes to the air...
If Boeing's development skills for the KC-46A Pigosaurus are anything to go by, it'll be years before that hypersonic demonstrator takes to the air...
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I used to fly a bizjet into a nearby private strip on occasion. I knew a couple of Martin executives back in the day and asked them about the facility. Both admitted that they knew it was an important national defense operation with tight security but claimed to know nothing more.
The nearby private strip was on another secret test facility, Lake Conlin, aka Lake X:
The Outboard Expert: Off the Map at Lake X - boats.com
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That's interesting, AirB... because M-M actually put out a press release about it in the early 1980s. But some things like that happened then, and eventually people got the word to not even utter the S-word, whether they had black-world contracts or not.
That is without a shadow of doubt an RF test range, not an engine test facility (of which there are numerous just south). Note the large dish array with zero elevation and the test stand at the end of the "runway"/range...some one is measuring RCS of an interesting aeroshape.
You can see the shadow of the mounting pole at the other end of the 'runway'
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F117
Was someone asking about RAF Pilots having flown the F117?
https://www.dsei.co.uk/speakers/air-...ncoln-taylor#/
Don't think any ever flew SR71 but I will ask Rich Graham next time I see him in May
Was someone asking about RAF Pilots having flown the F117?
https://www.dsei.co.uk/speakers/air-...ncoln-taylor#/
Don't think any ever flew SR71 but I will ask Rich Graham next time I see him in May
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F117
Was someone asking about RAF Pilots having flown the F117?
https://www.dsei.co.uk/speakers/air-...ncoln-taylor#/
Don't think any ever flew SR71 but I will ask Rich Graham next time I see him in May
Was someone asking about RAF Pilots having flown the F117?
https://www.dsei.co.uk/speakers/air-...ncoln-taylor#/
Don't think any ever flew SR71 but I will ask Rich Graham next time I see him in May
Listing of all Personel who flew the Blackbirds
Hey Bubba! ORAC! Others....
Check out this vehicle that was featured this week in the AvWeek Daily Digest. Need time to recover from vehicle breakdown 300 miles from home and car still FUBAR. So I can't research further.
USAF Spending Big On Technology Transition Projects | Defense content from Aviation Week
The lead picture is veeeeeery intereeeesting.
http://aviationweek.com/site-files/a...craft-afrl.jpg
That sucker looks like it has the combined cycle propulsion that Lockheed touted a few weeks back. Looks like two intakes, and the conventional turbjet/turbofan lup higher than the other intake. Sucker also seems stealthy design.
Gums wonders.....
Check out this vehicle that was featured this week in the AvWeek Daily Digest. Need time to recover from vehicle breakdown 300 miles from home and car still FUBAR. So I can't research further.
USAF Spending Big On Technology Transition Projects | Defense content from Aviation Week
The lead picture is veeeeeery intereeeesting.
http://aviationweek.com/site-files/a...craft-afrl.jpg
That sucker looks like it has the combined cycle propulsion that Lockheed touted a few weeks back. Looks like two intakes, and the conventional turbjet/turbofan lup higher than the other intake. Sucker also seems stealthy design.
Gums wonders.....
Last edited by gums; 26th Jan 2018 at 23:25. Reason: image
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Hey Bubba! ORAC! Others....
That sucker looks like it has the combined cycle propulsion that Lockheed touted a few weeks back. Looks like two intakes, and the conventional turbjet/turbofan lup higher than the other intake. Sucker also seems stealthy design.
Gums wonders.....
That sucker looks like it has the combined cycle propulsion that Lockheed touted a few weeks back. Looks like two intakes, and the conventional turbjet/turbofan lup higher than the other intake. Sucker also seems stealthy design.
Gums wonders.....
Spot on ORAC... Sigh... Kelly, where are you when we need you?
Not hypersonic - but all done decades ago - and the little blighter made it most of the way across Lop Nor too - there's a great story in the Ben Rich book about an Uzbek shepherd finding some weird piece of RAM coated metal after one of the D-21s pissed off into China and didn't come back...
Not hypersonic - but all done decades ago - and the little blighter made it most of the way across Lop Nor too - there's a great story in the Ben Rich book about an Uzbek shepherd finding some weird piece of RAM coated metal after one of the D-21s pissed off into China and didn't come back...
Hey Bubba! ORAC! Others....
Check out this vehicle that was featured this week in the AvWeek Daily Digest. Need time to recover from vehicle breakdown 300 miles from home and car still FUBAR. So I can't research further.
USAF Spending Big On Technology Transition Projects Defense content from Aviation Week
The lead picture is veeeeeery intereeeesting.
http://aviationweek.com/site-files/a...craft-afrl.jpg
That sucker looks like it has the combined cycle propulsion that Lockheed touted a few weeks back. Looks like two intakes, and the conventional turbjet/turbofan lup higher than the other intake. Sucker also seems stealthy design.
Gums wonders.....
Check out this vehicle that was featured this week in the AvWeek Daily Digest. Need time to recover from vehicle breakdown 300 miles from home and car still FUBAR. So I can't research further.
USAF Spending Big On Technology Transition Projects Defense content from Aviation Week
The lead picture is veeeeeery intereeeesting.
http://aviationweek.com/site-files/a...craft-afrl.jpg
That sucker looks like it has the combined cycle propulsion that Lockheed touted a few weeks back. Looks like two intakes, and the conventional turbjet/turbofan lup higher than the other intake. Sucker also seems stealthy design.
Gums wonders.....
George - I didn't think there were any pictures of the secret thing Kratos is making? They won't even say who the customer is....
Have a first edition, I assume you know the market.