Powerful nations have sought to build aircraft with hypersonic speeds (five times the speed of sound).
It was tested with a variety of engines, but it flew over the ground with its own engine and could not reach speeds of up to five times the speed of sound. The world’s first hybrid aircraft, the X-15, can fly at speeds of up to 6.7 times the speed of sound, but it can only be flown at high altitudes like the B-52, powered by a rocket engine.
The United States is now the dominant power in hybrid aircraft technology. Just last week, Hermeus, a hybrid aerospace company, unveiled its full-scale prototype aircraft. Called the Quarterhorse, the world’s fastest renewable aircraft was the first to use a turbocharged engine called the TBCC (turbine-based combined cycle), a combination of Ramjet and Scramjet engines.
The full-size, part-time Delta Quarterhorse wing prototype was on the ground at the time of the show, but the company expects to make its first flight next year. The aircraft can carry up to 20 passengers and is expected to fly at five times the speed of sound.
Today, passenger planes take about seven hours to fly that distance. The reusable aircraft will be able to fly automatically or remotely, with a range of 4,600 miles (7,403 km).
The aircraft will be the first to use a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine based on General Electric’s GE J85 turbocharged engine, and will be the first high-speed automatic aircraft. In early August, Hermeus announced that it had signed a $ 60 million contract with the US Air Force to fly the aircraft at hypersonic speeds.