X-51A Waverider Scramjet Engine Mach 6 Speed Of Sound Record
May 27, 2010 by Jerry Reth · Leave a Comment
X-51A Waverider Scramjet Engine Mach 6 Speed Of Sound Record – The U.S. Air Force confirmed today that their X-51A Waverider cruise missile had broken the sound barrier. The missile was able to hit speeds as high as Mach 6 during the initial test run. The test run was reportedly held over the Pacific Ocean in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The missile is set to be carried by the B-52 aircraft, and will fly at an altitude of nearly 50,000 feet. While the exact launch spot is not confirmed the Air Force stated that the missile had been launched from somewhere on the southern California coast.
The missile was able to keep it self at the high rate of travel for nearly 200 seconds, making this missile a very effective weapon against a number of different targets. The Air Force did say that they ran into some issue, which they called “a vehicle anomaly”, and were forced to stop the flight of the missile early. However, this recent test run is very good news for the developers of the technology. Officials said that this new missile is the fastest missile that can be utilized by our military. It was able to beat the previous record that was held by the previous scamjet missile by nearly 12 seconds.
“We are ecstatic to have accomplished many of the X-51A test points during this first hypersonic mission,” said Charilie Brink, the program manager at the Air Force Research Labratory. “We equate this leap in engine technology as equivalent to the post war World War II jump from propeller driven aircraft’s to jet engines.”
The successful first hypersonic mission for the missile marks a very important date in American history. We can expect to see this missile used in tactical missions in the future.
