Military of China, force comment.
Military of China, force comment.

HTV second test diagram: 1. HTV-2 equipped with the launch vehicle; 2 and separated from the rocket vehicle body, re-entry; 3 in the sliding process in suspected abnormal rotation; 4 . lost contact with the ground, disappeared into the Pacific Ocean. Source: United States, “Popular Mechanics” magazine website

DARPA built a total of only two “Falcon”, after the failure of the flight, both of which are missing. Even so, the project director, Air Force Maj. Chris Schultz still seems confident: “Although the test results is not perfect, after all, I believe there will be solutions to preliminary assessments indicate that these two failures is not directly related to flight . “

over a quarter of the North American continent

to create” one hour to combat anywhere in the world, “the strategy of deterrence, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in recent years and vigorously promote the “Falcon” (HTV) hypersonic unmanned aerial vehicle program. How much they dismay, this was a strange wedge-shaped appearance, the use of rocket-assisted launch, with strong penetration ability, known as the world’s fastest aircraft in the second test conducted recently in the Pacific Ocean out of control and fall over again Sea missing.

United States, “Connection” magazine later reported that “Falcon” has been several times in the computer and wind tunnel tested, but they can only simulate the maximum speed of Mach 1.5 (11,400 miles/hour) . Therefore, the actual test to test whether the performance of HTV only way to cross the border. In April last year during the first test, the aircraft to Mach 22, 139 seconds; August 11 this year, the second flight, the main purpose is still testing the high-temperature composite fuselage, and the second 4 miles under the speed control of the flight track of the precision navigation system. According to DARPA said the test process, a total of more than 20 ground, air, sea and space-based facilities is responsible for collecting data.

HTV-2 (suffix Arabic numbers represent the number of production) is a unique wedge-shaped appearance, who had been likened to “a speed of 13,000 miles of thick pizza.” At this rate, from London to Sydney takes less than one hour from New York to Los Angeles just a short 12 minutes. Prior to this, no other country from creating a similar vehicle.

To achieve this target, “Falcon” technical difficulties, including: high-lift aerodynamic shape, the structure of high temperature, materials and processing technology, hypersonic autonomous navigation and control and security systems. In the actual test, the aircraft’s flight path on the flat stones used as children make sense in the same pond, 30 to 60 km in the “air corridor” the lowest point of a short start the engine, to promote their own climb, fall, then climb … … average more than two minutes for a “jump”, each hop span 450 km, again and again, less than an hour away over the designated locations.

performance is much higher than conventional air

traced, “Falcon” is the Pentagon’s global real-time combat arms part of the project, marking the U.S. strategic deterrent ability of transformation. According to DARPA’s view, the ultimate aim is to give U.S. forces “within one hour of combat anywhere in the world” capability – that is, the use of such ultra-high-speed delivery of precision-guided vehicles with conventional warheads, on the distant, fleeting high precise value targets to destroy. If this in the 1990s is only a vision, but has had a successful test flight with the X-37B space plane and HTV project progressed, the world’s ultra high-speed combat now gradually into reality.

“Falcon” is priced at approximately $ 308 million, with the launch vehicle, the first sub-orbital in the atmosphere, outer slide, as the case into the “jump” to attack the track. In actual combat, HTV-2 hypersonic aircraft such as a drill ground can carry warheads or four small diameter bombs or six wide-area intelligent attack munitions, the use of special aerodynamic shape a wide range of mobility, firepower to avoid interception and, where appropriate release position to carry ammunition, attack on the targets.

U.S. Space Command released the evaluation report that, in the HTV after serving as a weapons systems, once received a combat command, just one hour from the United States launched four small diameter bombs or the smart portable hypersonic aircraft attack munitions can be achieved by April 1986 the Libyan air strikes, “Gold Canyon” action to achieve the same success.

straight non-destructive testing confidence in the U.S.

compared with ordinary missiles, “Falcon” The biggest advantage is difficult to predict the trajectory and impact point was detected against a party even if its not easy to launch a continuous tracking, fire control is difficult to obtain accurate data. Meanwhile, the traditional anti-missile system does not adequately cover the activities of such target areas. Therefore, HTV face mainstream aerospace defense system has a very high probability of penetration, especially from the constraints of the existing arms control treaties, which explains the U.S. military tried to develop such weapons in mind.

previously reported that, in the first test flight after the failure of contractor Lockheed – Martin was planning to modify the HTV-2, an engineer stressed: “make us a headache, if you change this aircraft’s shape, it may mean to cancel the whole plan … to the second test, we adjust the aircraft center of gravity, reducing its angle of attack, using technology to enhance nitrogen jet reaction control, in order to ensure flight stability. “But the subsequent facts show that although the launch, separation and re-entry success, the second test is also nine minutes after launch failure of this critical point in time, some observers to judge, HTV-2 did not in fact be much substantial improvement.

DARPA built a total of only two “Falcon”, after the failure of the flight, both of which are missing. Even so, the project director, Air Force Maj. Chris Schultz still seems confident: “Although the test results is not perfect, after all, I believe there will be solutions must draw lessons from preliminary assessments indicated that the two flight failure is not directly related. “analysis, the reason why a similar high-speed aircraft dystocia, the most fundamental crux of the” heart “and” Skin “(anti-thermal power system and shell) on; as long as the project was not because of funding cuts freeze, the problem is fully hope over time to be resolved one by one.