USA He has given a Important step in the technological career For hypersonic domain With the successful Second test flight of the TALON-A2and Non -manned plane reusable capable of reaching speeds of Mach 5that is, five times the speed of sound.
The Talon-A2 is being developed by Stratolaunchan aerospace company based in California, founded in 2011 by the co -founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen. The aircraft is part of the program Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB)an initiative of the American Defense Department designed, to accelerate the development of hypersonic technology using commercial platforms.
The test, carried out in March 2025 but recently revealed by the Pentagon, consisted of the Talon-A2 transport aboard the gigantic Roc planethe largest in the world in this operation, from where it was released on the Pacific Ocean for reach speeds greater than 3,800 miles per hour. The flight concluded with a successful landing at the base of the Vandenberg space force, in California.
“With the data collected from this second flight, we can apply the lessons learned to improve the resistance and performance of the TALON-A vehicles,” says the president and CEO of Stratolaunch, Zachary Krevor. “Now we have demonstrated the hypersonic speed, we have added the Complexity of a full track landing With a prompt recovery of the payload And we have demonstrated reuse, “he adds.
The Talon-A2 is not conceived as a direct weapon, but as Testing Bank for developing hypersonic technologiesincluding armament, engines, sensors and communication systems. The project has been partially funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory, although it has important private capital contributions.
While the United States achieved hypersonic flights in the decade of 1960 with the X-15 Programclosed in 1968, the current progress marks the return to a career dominated in recent years by China and Russia. At speeds such as Talon-A2, a plane could go around the world in less than seven hours.
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