- The aircraft follow specific design patterns and have limitations established by the manufacturers depending on the speed reached.

An aircraft is hypersonic when it exceeds Mach 5. / Hermeus

Guide to the most powerful and advanced hypersonic aircraft currently being developed

Hypersonic speed exceeds five times the speed of sound, in addition, the air surrounding the plane or drone is heated to such an extent that it becomes ionized. These vehicles are developed to reach high speeds and persist to the thermal stresses that they suffer on their surface, thus, they are capable of dislodging the heat generated.

For a drone or plane to be hypersonic it must move from Mach 5 or higher, but what does the Mach number mean specifically? This figure is the relationship between the speed of the aircraft and the local speed of sound, in addition, it depends on some variables such as temperature, pressure, and density.

Pilots have to know how fast airplanes are going because they have limitations set by the manufacturers. When the Mach number increases, the fluid exhibits understandable behavior and the density is no longer constant, taking into account that an aircraft in a transonic regime can cause shock waves.

Currently, the term hypersonic is still being discussed, since there is no physical change between supersonic and hypersonic, however, there is the possibility that it is related to an alteration in the state of the ship.

As mentioned above, planes or drones have to travel at a speed of Mach 5 or higher to be considered hypersonic, that is, the speed must be between 6,150 – 12,300 kilometers/hour.

The design of these vehicles follows specific patterns, such as nickel-titanium skin, highly integrated parts, and small wings.

Jungfrau: will reach 18,500 kilometers/hour

Jungfrau is an autonomous hypersonic aircraft that will have the ability to reach speeds of Mach 15 (18,500 km/hour), will use hydrogen as fuel, and could become a sustainable and faster alternative to current flights.

The aircraft can travel almost 800 kilometers in 40 minutes, and it will brake 40 minutes before landing. It will also perform operations similar to those of an airplane, it will be able to climb and accelerate to exceed the speed of sound and transport loads between continents in less than two hours.

Jungfrau / Destinus

Stargazer: travel the world in 90 minutes

This futuristic needle-nosed plane could cross the Earth from Tokyo to Los Angeles in an hour thanks to the next generation Mach 9 speed, that is, 11,000 kilometers/hour to make trips in record time.

It could carry twelve passengers, use environmentally friendly fuel, is still in the early stages of conception, and the first prototype engine has undergone testing in hypersonic wind tunnels and propulsion laboratories.

Stargazer / Venus Aerospace

WZ-8: China's first hypersonic military drone

WZ-8 is intended to fly at extreme speeds and altitudes, therefore it would reach speeds of Mach 6 (7,274 km/h) and Mach 7 (8,643.6 km/h). Deploying this drone provides a surveillance and espionage capability, as it can hide in underground hangars and hit any enemy unexpectedly.

The most dangerous role of the WZ-8 may be the provision of target data, particularly on warships which, due to their mobility, present more challenging targets for long-range missiles than fixed bases (this allows the drone to perform a vital role in missile attacks.

WZ-8 / Ankit Panda

Space Transportation: hypersonic trips to space

China has the goal of building a hypersonic aircraft that exceeds three times the speed of Concorde, that is, flying from Beijing to New York in less than an hour to exceed Mach 6 speed (7,408.8 kilometers/hour).

Said aircraft could send ten passengers per flight to the first space stations built by China, as well as take off vertically with the help of a rocket.

Takeoff and landing are key actions, as turbulence and extreme heat are the main challenges. There are also certain areas of the aircraft that will require additional protection from increased temperature and pressure when reaching Mach 6 speed.

Space Transportation / Nguyen Tuan

Share Globy News articles on your social signals.