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

https://artificialintelligenceandindividuals.blogspot.com/

Difficulties in making the fastest aircraft in the world

Picture I 

http://crisisofdemocracticstates.blogspot.com/p/difficulties-in-making-fastest-aircraft.html

Kimmo Huosionmaa

SR-71 "Blackbird" is the fastest known aircraft in the world. Making ultra-fast aircraft is not easy, because the heat in the atmospheric fly is very high, and that's why that very fast aircraft must rise above the tight layers of the atmosphere. The friction is the very bad problem, and that's why those aircraft must equip with the carbon fiber core, what would stand the extreme heat and pressure without melting. But the raise above the tight layers of the air would cause the problems because the jet motors cannot get enough air, and that's why the power of those machines would decrease.


One solution would pump the oxygen to the turbines from the liquid oxygen tanks, but that would cause decreasing the payload of that aircraft. And also oxygen tanks would decrease the flight time. So there must create the solution, what allows the motor to get tight air in the inlet, and the best way to act would be to design the aircraft that way, that the pressure wave, what would come from the nose of the aircraft would hit straight to the air inlet of the motor.


That would bring the tight air to the motor, and increase the altitude for all motors from turbojets and ramjets to flap ramjets and scramjets. The high speed would also increase the mass of incoming air to the motors. And that's why SR-71 got higher altitude than the U-2 spy plane. The SR-71 was withdrawn from the duty because of USAF afraid that the secret technology, what was used in that plane would go to the hands of Russians. But legend remains, and maybe the successor of the SR-71 is operational in somewhere inside the top-secret world of military intelligence.

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https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_original/uuvjj2jibz2cmkab4zcv.jpg

Lockheed XQM-60 "Kingfisher" the early version of hypersonic cruise missiles

Lockheed XQM-60 "Kingfisher"
(Picture I)

http://crisisofdemocracticstates.blogspot.fi/p/lockheed-xqm-60-kingfisher-early.html

Kimmo Huosionmaa

I found an article at Internet or Wikipedia, where was told a story of XQM-60 "Kingfisher" target drone, what had the capacity to speed of mach 4,3. This ramjet- propelled drone was in operational in 1951, and this thing was meant that the United States Air Force had the capacity to make hypersonic cruise missiles in 1950's.


In this drone had the same capacity to strike targets than some Tomahawk cruise missile. This kind of drones was officially made for anti-ballistic missile simulations, but there are so many details in this drones history, that I think the real purpose of that project was creating the very fast missile, what had the capacity to destroy targets by using kinetic energy. That means that "Kingfisher" might use as the model to create those extreme powerful missiles, what have the capacity to destroy specific targets in the enemy ground.


When we are looking at the United States reactions for China and Russian attempt to create those weapons, we must consider that the USA doesn't say anything about this kind of things. But when we are thinking about the procedures of the military forces way to give information, we must consider that they would give only the information, what is necessary to give. This means that the first hypersonic cruise missiles might fly in 1960's in the nose of some Nike-Hercules rocket. But this is only the thoughts about this drone.


We must remember that also "Tomahawk"-cruise missile started its career as the BQM-109 target drone, and when this drone was equipped with the nuclear warhead, it became BGM-109 "Tomahawk", what is the primary long-range weapon in the United States Navy. And maybe the name "Kingfisher" was meant to warn the enemies of United States, that this drone can drive to impact the enemy warships and bunkers. And the kinetic energy would destroy that target without warning if the nose of the missile would use Stealth technology for avoiding the radar of the targeted warship. Also, active ECM-system might be used to make sure that the missile would hit the target.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AQM-60_Kingfisher

Picture I

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Aqm-60a.jpg/300px-Aqm-60a.jpg

http://crisisofdemocracticstates.blogspot.fi/p/lockheed-xqm-60-kingfisher-early.html