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Hypersonic flight will be the next fundamental advantage in aviation.



Hypersonic flight is the key to the next-generation missiles and aircraft as well as space shuttles in civil and military sectors. Aircraft that can jump outside the atmosphere and then return can be the next-generation solutions. There are rocket-based hypersonic missiles already in use. But the Scramjet-powered systems are new. 

Hypersonic missiles can launch from aircraft or by using a rocket. They can equip with powerful microwave systems that can damage electronics or even melt targets. 

Launching those weapons from aircraft is similar to a regular cruise or air-launch ballistic missile. If the weapon is shot by using a ground-based rocket the process is a little bit different. The rocket will jump outside the atmosphere. And then the hypersonic missile can get enough speed. That the scramjet engine can start. The scramjet or hypersonic ramjet-based systems can also launch from the regular runways. 

There are three versions of that kind of engine system. The first one is that the aircraft lifts off by using regular turbojets. Then when the speed is high enough the aircraft transfers to use the ramjet engine. And when the aircraft's speed rises to Mach seven or seven times higher than the speed of sound. It starts the fuel injection to the scramjet engine. 


The B-2 Stealth bomber over the Pacific. The hypersonic stealth bombers can be the most destructive systems ever created. (Image Wikipedia: Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit)

There are no moving parts in the scramjet engine. The airflow or the fuel-air mixture's friction causes heat. 

That heat ignites the fuel. Which can be liquid hydrogen. The liquid hydrogen can also decrease the temperature of the core of the engine and aircraft. 

And the problem with scramjet is that the speed of that engine must be over Mach 6 so that the scramjet can ignite the fuel.  Another version is to make the airflow through scramjet with extremely high speed. 

That thing can be happened by connecting the hypersonic wind tunnel behind the scramjet engine. That wind tunnel can pull the air through the scramjet, and the friction will engine the fuel. 

But there is the possibility to create the ion scramjet. The engine ionizes air at the front of it. And then the magnetic track will pull those ions back. The magnetic track requires electricity. That's why portable lightweight nuclear reactors are promising tools to give fuel supply for that kind of device. 

The hypersonic stealth bombers are the most capable systems in the military world. Those bombers can attack very fast on every side of Earth. The large-size hypersonic aircraft can also transport people and cargo all around the Earth very fast. And if the hypersonic engines use hydrogen as the fuel they have no carbon emission. 


https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2022/04/lockheed-martin-hopes-us-has-turned-corner-hypersonics/365631/


https://www.defenseone.com/business/2022/04/collins-aerospace-creates-group-make-hypersonic-weapons-next-generation-aircraft/365601/


https://eurasiantimes.com/us-aims-to-develop-next-gen-fighters-hypersonic-missiles-with-new/?amp


https://thepointsguy.com/news/fresh-investment-brings-the-hypersonic-flight-dream-closer-to-reality/


Image: https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2022/04/lockheed-martin-hopes-us-has-turned-corner-hypersonics/365631/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_B-2_Spirit


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjet


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramjet


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