U.S. Air Force's X-51A Waverider Notches Longest Scramjet Flight

摘要

The U.S. Air Force flew a Boeing-built experimental hypersonic vehicle for over six minutes May 1 in what was the longest air-breathing hypersonic flight ever and the longest of the four X-51 A test flights. "It was a full mission success," Charlie Brink, X-51 A program manager for the Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate, said in a press release. "The X-51 A Waverider will serve as the bedrock for future hypersonics research and ultimately the practical application of hypersonic flight." Officials from Boeing Defense, Space & Security of St. Louis were equally pleased.