19 juin 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By: Valerie Insinna
LE BOURGET, France — Raytheon has partnered with Northrop Grumman on its air-breathing hypersonic weapon, which will be powered by a Northrop-made scramjet made entirely of 3D-printed parts, the company announced Tuesday.
Raytheon and Northrop's weapon is one of the competitors in the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's HAWC project, short for Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept.
The companies' offering — which comprises Northrop's scramjet engine and Raytheon's air vehicle — is ready to make its first flight, said Tom Bussing, vice president of Raytheon's advanced missile system segment.
“We have a flight test planned for the near future where we will begin flying this particular class of weapon system,” he said during a briefing at Paris Air Show. While the exact schedule is classified, Bussing noted that the companies have already conducted “significant” ground tests
“The combustor, everything that we do now is done by additive manufacturing, so its driving affordability into the hypersonic boost missile's scramjet engine. We are also looking at ways to reduce the weight so we can have more fuel, more payload,” he said.
The entirety of Northrop's scramjet is 3D printed using advanced materials, said John Wilcox, the company's vice president of advanced programs and technology.
“There gets to be points where you have to weld additive manufactured parts, but right now even the full combustor [is printed],” he said. “We think we're the first to ever 3D print a full combuster for an air-breathing scramjet engine. That's what's going to drive the affordability for air-breathing scramjet missiles.”
According to Raytheon, scramjet engines use high vehicle speeds to then compress air moving into its inlets before combusting it. The process allows a vehicle to maintain hypersonic speeds — more than five times the speed of sound — over longer periods of time.
The Raytheon-Northrop team is competing against Lockheed Martin for the final HAWC contact.
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By: The Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Air Force innovation hub has opened in Alabama to harness research and technology for the military. “Mission Launch 2018” was meant to introduce the hub's mission to defense and regional leaders, Al.com reported. MGMWERX will be operating out of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce building. MGMWERX is a partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory. The facility is part of a network of WERX hubs and will take ideas generated from nearby Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base to solve technological or efficiency problems faced by the military. Lt. Gen. Anthony Cotton, Air University president, said the hub will take concepts and "incubate them" to solve difficult Air Force and Department of Defense issues. “This is a direct link to the Secretary of Defense's National Defense Strategy developing a lethal force through evolving innovative operational concepts,” Cotton said. “That critical thinking happens right up the street at Maxwell Air Force Base and will blossom right here.” MGMWERX Director Bill Martin said a team of five will integrate concepts and technology "from the public sector with the broad spectrum of Air Force proposals brought forward by some of the brightest minds in the service." Anna Buckalew, executive vice president of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce said MGMWERX “will be a model for communities around the world, fueling innovation and collaboration that creates solutions for some of the most critical issues the Air Force and our nation faces today.” https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/09/02/air-force-innovation-hub-launches-in-alabama