Have your ever imagined that what would happen if state of the art P-51 Mustang of WW2 engages in a battle with F-22 raptor. The F-22 raptor, with its supersonic speed, advanced weapon systems and superior maneuverability will tear the Mustang apart in seconds. This gives us an idea that how much the technology has progressed in just 50 years.
The leading Aircraft manufacturers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Sukhoi, Mikoyan and others have set on a path to produce future aircraft that would be hyper-sonic, fuel efficient and have the ability to go into space. Who ever produces such an aircraft first would surely prove its technological edge on competitors.
Falcon
Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird had its last flight on October 9, 1999 and was finally retired. The USAF felt strong need to have another aircraft with speed nearly three times greater than of SR-71. NASA and DARPA (Defence Advance Research Projects Agency) collaborated with Lockheed Marin to develop two Falcon test vehicles that would be hyper-sonic. This $100 million Mach 10 aircraft project aims to provide tested reconnaissance, advanced weapon delivery systems and the capability to deploy a satellite onto orbit.
Lockheed Martins Bob Baumgartner said while describing the project
“We need propulsion that transitions seamlessly from Mach 0 to Mach 9 or 10″
DARPA engineer Steven Walker said
“For low speed, we’re looking at turbine engines that can perform at speeds from Mach 0 to Mach 4, then a scramjet, that takes over anywhere between Mach 2 and Mach 4 and goes up to higher Mach numbers — depending on the fuel, up to Mach 10,”
The turbine engines used in most of the Aircrafts of today cannot function above Mach 3.5 max. So the only solution is to use a Supersonic RAM jet engine to achieve higher speeds.
Craig Johnson at Lockheed Martin said,
“I can easily envision this technology eventually making its way into advanced aircraft, something like long-range strike aircraft, supersonic bombers or future fighters.”
Flapping Solar Bird
With the advancements in technology, thin film flexible solar panels and thin Lithium Polymer batteries have been developed. Now it seems possible to develop a revolutionary aircraft that would produce, store and utilize its energy on board. Ohio Aerospace institute is collaborating with NASA to develop a flapping wing solar panel plane or simply a solar bird.
A part of Ohio Aerospace institute press release is quoted below.
Combining the unique characteristics of these materials enables flapping of the aircraft wing to generate the main propulsive force. With a flight profile similar to that of a hawk or eagle, the Solid State Aircraft will be able to soar for long periods of time and utilize flapping to regain lost altitude. During Phase I work on this concept, analysis was performed on the glide duration, flap duration, wing length, and wing motion of travel. It was determined that a versatile, robust, advanced aeronautical architecture can be produced taking into account these parameters. This architecture would enable flight over a broad flight envelope comprised of a range of latitudes and times of the year on Earth, Venus, and Mars.
See the video for more information.
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Boeing X-48B
Boeing X-48 B is a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that is currently under development. Test scale models have been built by Boeing in collaboration with NASA Langley research center to demonstrate the blended body design. The UAV possesses advanced and experimental features that will certainly help Boeing to develop advanced aircraft of the future.
more info here.
Infinite Range Solar plane
Solar cells with more than 20% efficiency are being made today and researchers are striving for more efficiency. Composite materials having less weight but large strength have been developed. It now seems feasible to build a solar plane with infinite range. Boeing has presented concept of an aircraft that can fly above the atmosphere and harness pure energy of the sun. This aircraft would be light in weight and will have the capability to fly indefinitely, of course routine maintainence might be an issue but its not impossible to overcome.
Switch Blade
The switch blade is mentioned frequently on forums of aircraft enthusiasts. They state that its currently under development for USAF and their claim seems likely. USAF has experimented with Boeing X-29, the forward swept wing aircraft and the agility of F-14 Tomcat’s swing-wing design is also known to them. So it is quite possible that a stealth, hyper sonic swing-wing forward swept Aircraft might be currently under development in high secrecy.
more detailed info can be found here.
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