Wed, Sep 19, 2007
Facility Provided Mach 6 Environment
Aerojet tells ANN it recently
completed ground testing of an advanced flight-weight combustor for
the Dual Combustion Ramjet engine (DCR) on the DARPA/Navy/Boeing
HyFly (Hypersonic Flight) program. Aerojet's DCR engine is
fabricated entirely from lightweight, high-temperature composites
-- making it less than half the weight of fuel-cooled metal
engines.
The company says this hypersonic engine technology will enable
the US military to reach long-range threats in a fraction of the
time it takes with current missiles.
The full-duration test of the engine was conducted at Aerojet's
Orange, VA airbreathing test facility, which provided a Mach 6
flight environment simulation -- equivalent to six times the speed
of sound.
"With this test, HyFly took a big step forward with a
demonstration of the thermo-structural durability of the engine
structure at Mach 6 flight conditions. It proved the viability of
an uncooled structure concept to survive extreme engine
environments," said Office of Naval Research Program Manager, Gil
Graff. Aerojet President Scott Neish added, "This critical test was
the last in an extensive ground test series that has validated the
performance, structural integrity and durability of this new
engine."
Aerojet also is building two flight test DCR engines for the
program. Future flight tests will feature a missile configuration
compatible with surface ship and submarine launches as well as US
Navy and Air Force aircraft.
Aerojet is the principal subcontractor to Boeing Advanced
Systems for the HyFly demonstrator. Boeing, in partnership with the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Office of
Naval Research (ONR), is developing and flight testing the HyFly
demonstrator. A previous HyFly flight test was successfully
launched in January 2005, demonstrating safe separation from an
F-15E as well as vehicle guidance and control functions; and in
August 2005, demonstrating boost phase performance of a hypersonic
strike demonstrator vehicle.
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