US, UK Teams Complete Hundreds Of Static Test Runs

American and British teams of researchers have recently completed hundreds of successful test runs of an air-breathing engine for a hypersonic cruise missile in what is being called a critical breakthrough in countering Russian and Chinese hypersonic missile threats.

The static test runs were conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. More than 200 runs at a range of speeds including Mach 5, or about 3,400 mph, were performed over a six-week period. Mach 5 is considered the threshold for hypersonic speed.

The UK said in a statement that tests demonstrated “high-speed air-breathing engine” performance – enabling greater ranges than conventional rockets. Although it wasn’t made clear when the tests were performed, they included “real-time data analysis to refine design aspects and boost propulsive performance.”

The significance of air-breathing engines is that they create the chemical reaction required for fuel combustion. This eliminates the need for a separate onboard system. Sustained flight at Mach 5 or better allows a missile to potentially evade an adversary’s defense system, according to Raytheon.

For comparison, a subsonic cruise missile like a Tomahawk takes about an hour to reach a target at 500 miles but a hypersonic cruise missile would only take 10 minutes, according to Washington, D.C.-based think tank Atlantic Council.

Russia and China have already fielded several types of hypersonic missiles that threaten U.S. land and sea bases. And reportedly, North Korea and Iran have also made significant progress in hypersonic missile development and deployment.

Despite at least five years of developing long-range hypersonic weapons, the U.S. has yet to field an operational weapon. But in the fall of 2024, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia signed an agreement to allow each nation to use each other’s testing facilities and to share technical information to develop, test, and evaluate hypersonic weapons.

FMI:  https://www.nasa.gov/langley/