MACH-20 AEROSPACECRAFT

New-York to Los Angeles in 12 minutes… It would have been a record-breaker, had it worked:

The DARPA and USAF FALCON project might give anybody the thrill of speed as this « aerospacecraft » has been designed to reach Mach 20 i.e. around 20,000 km/h; 5.6 km/s; 10,800 knots; or 12,400 mph depending on the air temperature, and the altitude which might be above at least FL900!

DARPA USAF FALCON HTV-2 hypersonic aerospacecraft - 22 April 2011
DARPA HTV-2 - 22 April 2011 ---- Photo: DARPA, US Federal Government

Unfortunately, the project seems to encounter major difficulties as the last test which unfolded on August 11, 2011 failed again. The previous one – also on an HTV2 – had failed in April. Click on the right-hand side picture to get further information on the first test. The Blackswift (HTV-3X)  had been designed by ATK; Boeing; Lockheed Martin; and Skunk Works to provided a strategic strike anywhere in the world within an hour. It was cancelled due to a lack of funds (see the HTV-3 shown in the following video):

 


 

  • DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • FALCON stands for Force Application and Launch from CONtinental United States
  • FL stands for Flight Level (FL x 100ft = altitude)
  • HTV stands for Hypersonic Test Vehicle or Hypersonic Technology Vehicle
  • RCS means here in the videos: Reaction Control System (and not Radar Cross Section)

Click on the picture below, and then on the blue arrows to watch the different phases of light:

Flight Overview slide, MACH-20 DARPA AEROSPACECRAFT
Flight Overview slide - Interactive picture: DARPA, U.S. Federal Government

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BOEING 787 Dreamliner maiden flight to JAPAN

It was the first time a Boeing B-787 Dreamliner had taken off for Japan. The Japanese ANA – All Nippon Airways – has ordered 40 Boeing B-787-8; and 15 B-787-9. This video was shot a month ago as the wide-body jet airliner departed from Seattle on July 3, 2011:

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Chinese 5th-generation fighter « J-20 Black Eagle » HD video

The first J-20 BLACK EAGLE taxiing-test snapshots have popped up throughout the blogosphere for a few days. These so-called leaked pictures reveal a design that comes straight from the J-XX with the front part similar to the F-22 Raptor’s one, and the aft a bit like the Sukhoi PAK FA’s one.

Thanks to ChineseKungFu100, you can watch below a High-Definition video in which you can see a huge glass cockpit. It is believed that the J-20 is likely to be cheaper than the PAK FA / T-50, and far cheaper than the JSF F-35 and the F-22, with lower performance though longer radius of combat, and bigger strike capability. The shapes after the forward canards and the chine, may be low-RCS caret air intakes with DSIs – Diverterless Supersonic Inlets – which maintain high-quality airflow to the engines over a wide range of conditions. It is believed that the J-20 may have Russian engines. She is likely to be equipped with an AESA radar.

With this new fighter aircraft, and its brand new aircraft carrier, the PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force) could be on a par with the lead air forces in the world.

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Video – SAAB 35 DRAKEN tested as an interceptor

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Austrian AF Draken - Saab J 35 - Photo © HoHun (2003)

The Swedish-made Saab 35 Draken was a second generation jet fighter. 644 of them were built. This fighter aircraft used to fly during the Cold War as early as 1955, and entered in service in 1960.

Maybe her particular double-delta shape was worth calling it « Draken » which means « kite ». She was more an air defense aircraft than a dogfighter aircraft.

She retired from the RDAF, the Royal Danish Air Force in 1993; from the SwAF, the Swedish Air Force in 1999; from the FIAF, the Finnish Air Force in 2000; and from the AAF, the Austrian Air Force in 2005.

Hereafter an interesting video featuring a Saab 29 Tunnan (Flying Barrel); a Saab 32 Lansen (Lance); and a Draken momentarily as an interceptor; with her rate of climb nearing 35,000ft/min, she could reach FL650 – more than 20 kilometres above the earth – to hit her target:

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