Hypersonic Planes

Hypersonic travel now "inevitable", top aerospace and military bosses have predicted.

16:09 09 November 2016

Aviation giants say that hypersonic flight is now an “inevitable” step for travel with NASA, the Air Force, and Lockheed Martin saying that we are now ‘on the brink of a new era in air transportation.’

 

The US is calling for more commitment as well as more funding to help them lead the way. 

 

Former US Air Force Maj. Gen. Curtis M. Bedke, said: ‘What’s exciting about aerospace today is that we are in a point here where suddenly, things are happening all across the board in areas that just haven’t been happening for quite a while,’ 

 

‘There was a period where engine technology had just sort of stagnated – a point where all materials technology was going along at about the same pace.

 

‘There wasn’t much happening. 

 

'But suddenly, in all sorts of areas that apply to aerospace, things are happening.’

 

He added: ‘It is inevitable that hypersonic technologies are going to happen,’ 

 

‘It is not inevitable that we are going to be the country to do it first. But we can be the country to do it first, but we’re going to have to put our minds to it, and we’re going to have to stop the history of fits and starts, of throwing money at a big program, achieving a wild success, and then having no follow-up.

 

‘Or throwing a lot of money at too big a program, taking too giant a bite, failing miserably and then deciding hypersonics isn’t going anywhere. Neither of those must be allowed to happen in the coming years.’