The United States is developing its future hypersonic bomber, a device that will offer countless benefits.
Draper, a non-profit organization that has played a big role in projects like the Polaris A1 rocket, the Apollo 11 mission and even Covid-19 research, today joins the project to develop the world’s first US hypersonic bomber. A $334 million contract, dubbed “Project Mayhem “, was awarded to Leidos to help the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) develop a hypersonic system in December 2022.
The US is building its own future hypersonic bomber
Thus, along with Kalspan and Kratos, Draper will work on the Mayhem project and will make a significant contribution to the design, development and testing of this hypersonic bomber. Draper will also be involved in the development of guidance, navigation and control systems, as well as all engineering activities aimed at evaluating the feasibility and cost of producing an imagined prototype.
The Mayhem project, which can be seen as the successor to the legendary SR-71, should establish the superiority of the United States in terms of hypersonic defense technologies. The Mayem project, officially known as the Expendable Hypersonic Multi-mission ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and Strike program, is expected to use a supersonic ramjet propulsion system (scramjet) that propels supersonic aircraft operating at speeds from Mach 3 to Mach 6.
A device that offers countless benefits
Thanks to this system, devices can reach speeds up to Mach 15. But the production of such a machine is very difficult, since operating at speeds above Mach 5 leads to intense heat, which increases the risk of melting vital components. In addition, it is not easy to combine the design of a traditional jet engine with the accelerating power of a scramjet engine. It is for these reasons that such a device does not yet exist. But the benefits will be huge.
Currently, hypersonic missiles are considered the best in terms of protection, in this segment China and Russia have made significant progress. The US Air Force has already tested its first prototype of the AGM-183A hypersonic missile, which can reach speeds of up to Mach 20. On the other hand, Project Mayhem, itself operating at hypersonic speeds, will launch conventional missiles at its targets without the risk of being detected. or fired upon.
A hypersonic bomber would be an extremely destructive yet economical alternative to hypersonic missiles. Recall that the SR-71 worked at a speed of Mach 4, but during its existence it was never shot down by an enemy missile.