Armed Forces News

In a controlled test, an Air Force research team achieved the highest thrust ever produced by a hypersonic engine in service history. The Air Force Research Laboratory and Air Force Test Center team, working together with the Arnold Engineering Development Complex and Northrop Grumman, developed a scramjet engine that reached more than 13,000 pounds of thrust in a test conducted at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., earlier this month.

“The scramjet successfully ran across a range of hypersonic Mach numbers for unprecedented run times, demonstrating that our technology is leading the way in delivering large-scale hypersonic platforms to our warfighters,” said Northrop Grumman’s Pat Nolan, vice president for missile products.

The team considers the accomplishment a key step toward the goal of building a new class of hypersonic vehicles.