Hypersonic Engine Passes Ground Tests

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They’ve made it work on the ground and now Aerojet is working toward a flying version of its HyFly hypersonic ramjet missile engine. The company recently completed tests of a beefed up “heavy-weight” variant of the engine at Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee. The engine was tested in simulated conditions at various altitudes and speeds as high as Mach 6.5. “The success of the tests … demonstrates our ability to design, build and manage testing of a hypersonic engine,” Program Manager Chuck Beaudry said in a news release. Aerojet is developing the engine for Boeing’s Phantom Works as part of its contract to develop the HyFly long-range strike missile demonstrator program. The recent tests will help Aerojet optimize the design and performance of the engine before building a “flightweight” model that can be put inside a missile. Flight tests will eventually be carried out at Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station in California.

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