The Mach 9.6 X-43A ‘Hypersonic Scramjet’ Has a Message for the U.S. Air Force

The Mach 9.6 X-43A ‘Hypersonic Scramjet’ Has a Message for the U.S. Air Force

Key Points and Summary – NASA’s X-43A wasn’t a paper study—it was a 12-foot, hydrogen-fueled experimental jet that proved an air-breathing engine could fly at nearly ten times the speed of sound. It built on decades of X-plane risk-taking and scramjet groundwork, broke the speed record for air-breathers (Mach 6.8, then Mach 9.6), and then…stopped. X-43A from NASA. Image Credit: Creative Commons. -The cancellation wasn’t a scientific failure; it …

Australia And U.S. Join Forces To Develop Hypersonic Weapons Under SCIFiRE Program

The United States and Australia have strengthened their strategic defense partnership with a joint effort to develop air-launched hypersonic cruise missiles under the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) program — a move designed to close the gap with Russia and China in the rapidly advancing hypersonic arms race. The SCIFiRE initiative, a bilateral program between the U.S. Department of Defense and Australia’s Departme…