Friday, August 12, 2011

Hypersonic aircraft set for trial this week

An artist's rendition released by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency shows the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) separating from the rocket. The Falcon HTV-2 is an unmanned, rocket-launched, maneuverable aircraft that glides through the Earth's atmosphere at incredibly fast speeds, Mach 20 (approximately 13,000 miles per hour). Photo: AP


  • An experimental aircraft that could fly at blistering speeds of over 20,000 kmph is all set for trial.
  • The unmanned, arrowhead-shaped aircraft, dubbed Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, will test new technology that would provide the Pentagon a lightning-fast vehicle capable of delivering a military strike anywhere in the world in under an hour, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
  • At its top speed it could travel the 17,000 kilometres between London and Sydney in about 49 minutes.
  • The Falcon is part of Lockheed Martin's "prompt global strike" concept. It is being funded by U.S.' Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.
  • It is due to be launched aboard a Minotaur IV rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara on Thursday.
Posted by Ashish at 8/12/2011 02:07:00 PM
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