T
he Air Force and Boeing has demonstrated the ability to release munitions from an aircraft weapons bay while the aircraft flies at high supersonic speeds. According to a Boeing release, during a recent test at the High-Speed Test Track at Holloman AFB, N.M., researchers from Boeing Phantom Works and Air Force Research Lab employed “active flow control” with a rocket sled to test the release of an Mk-82 Joint Direct Attack Munition at Mach-2. AFRL program manager on the effort, Jim Grove, said this innovative technology “will enable safe separation of weapons from weapons bays of future high-speed aircraft.” He also commended the use of the rocket sled as “a lower risk technology evaluation alternative to flight testing in this complex, high-risk environment.” The program is called High Frequency Excitation Active flow Control for Supersonic Weapon Release, or HIFEX for short.
Facing competition from fast-growing startups, Lockheed Martin is speeding up production of an “affordable, scalable” hypersonic glide body, dubbed the Next Generation Glide Body, the firm said in a June 24 release.