DOD has designated Air Force Research Lab’s scramjet engine as the X-51A test vehicle, the latest addition to the class of experimental aircraft. AFRL officials at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, say the X-51A will explore powered atmospheric flight at hypersonic speeds—greater than five times the speed of sound. USAF believes hypersonic propulsion technology will lead to reusable, on-demand launch vehicles and high-speed weapons that could take out time-critical targets over great distances. AFRL plans to launch five to eight scramjet-powered free-flying vehicles in flight tests scheduled for December 2008 and January 2009.
Pentagon officials overseeing homeland counter-drone strategy told lawmakers that even with preliminary moves to bolster U.S. base defenses, the military still lacks the capability to comprehensively identify, track, and engage hostile drones like those that breached the airspace of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days in December…