Brandon Lim / Stratolaunch
Hypersonic aircraft Talon-A2 transported by a Stratolaunch Roc, the largest plane in the world
American hypersonic aircraft Talon-A2 was launched from a Stratolaunch Roc, the world’s largest plane, and drove himself to hypersonic speeds-before landing quietly in California.
Hypersonic vehicles have become the latest state-of-the-art military technology, and the US seem be left behind in relation to their rivals.
This could change after the successful flight of an autonomous and reusable hypersonic aircraft of the American Stratolaunchcreated in 2011 by the co -founder of Microsoft Paul Allenwho in 2019 made history by launching the.
In recent years, both China and Russia have revealed missiles capable of Hypersonic speeds – Which means they can travel more than five times the speed of sound. These weapons are incredibly fast and highly maneuverable, which makes them difficult to track and.
Although the US is developing several, it will still be trying to reach its two main opponents – which is why the Pentagon launched in 2022 the out-TB programa To develop low cost options to test hypersonic technology that could accelerate its development.
As part of this program, says, Stratolaunch recently performed two Talon-A2its reusable hypersonic aircraft.
This week, the company confirmed that the vehicle has reached, in both missions, Speeds higher than Mach 5before landing safely at the base of Vandenberg’s Space Force, California.
“We have shown now hypersonic velocitywe added the complexity of a complete landing on the track with rapid recovery of the payload and proved the reuse, ”said Stratolaunch CEO, Zachary Krevorin one of the company. “Both flights were great achievements for our country, our company and our partners.”
O design do Talon-A2 lembra o do Space Shuttle. It is 8.5 meters long and is powered by a reusable rocket engine of 2,268 kg of impulse, built by the American startup Ursa Major.
Stratolaunch
Hypersonic Naval-A2 to Stratolannch
The vehicle was launched over the Pacific Ocean by Roc, the StratoLaunch transporter in December 2024 and again in March this year.
Although the company has not provided many details On flights, such as altitude or top speed, Krevor confirmed to the one that he performed several “high acceleration” maneuvers on his return to Earth.
This is the first time the US has a reusable hypersonic vehicle Since a Cruced aircraft X-15moved to rocket, was decommissioned in 1968. But crucially, Talon-A2 can fly autonomously, which should make it much more useful for Test hypersonic weapons systems.
“Hypersonic systems are now exceeding the limits in terms of maneuvering, going beyond what can be done by the human body“He said krevor to the technony.
“Therefore, to be able to make flights with an autonomous and reusable hypersonic test platform ensures that these flights are exploring the full capacity which represents what is happening in the development of hypersonic systems today, ”notes the Stratolaunch CEO.
The objective of the Mach-TB program is Create a test platform so that defense companies test various subsystems and materials under severe conditions generated by hypersonic speeds.
Stratolaunch is not the only company involved in the program. The American startup, which plans, also created a suborbital version of its rocket Electron for use as a platform for hypersonic tests.
But the reuse of Talon-A2 will probably be attractive to companies looking to rapidly iterate in hypersonic designs-and suggests that the US may not be late In the hypersonic race for much longer.
