The Register®

Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/29/darpa_hypersonic_ramjet_scramjet_aurora_nail_funding/

DARPA seeks $750m for hypersonic roboplane testbed

Bad news for tinfoil-sporting 'Aurora' diehards

By Lewis Page

Posted in Science, 29th January 2008 12:06 GMT

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DARPA*, the Pentagon research hothouse where only the most exotic notions bloom on a rich mulch of taxpayer greenbacks, is bidding for a cool three-quarter-billion in funds to build a hypersonic plane.

Reports of the "Blackswift" project - a refinement of the HTV-3X demonstrator plan mooted under DARPA's Falcon [1] scheme - emerged last year [2]. Now, according to reports, 2009 funding requests going before American legislators contain an item of $0.75bn for DARPA to take the project forward. If all goes well, the US air force will take it over in time.

The plans call for a fighter-sized, probably unmanned testbed aircraft which is thought likely to burn fairly ordinary hydrocarbon fuel in turbo/ram jets based on the same kind of technology as the late, great Mach-3.5 SR71 "Blackbird" spyplane of Cold War fame. Reliable sources suggest [3] that speeds of Mach 6 plus could be on the cards this time. That would normally be into hydrogen scramjet territory, but some researchers think that heavier fuel can be burnt practically in a supersonic airflow. Others reckon that intake air could be slowed using magnetohydrodynamics [4], and the energy put back in downstream of the combustion chamber.

The funding figures were reported by Inside Defense [5] (subscription only). Wired magazine, which originally confirmed the Blackswift plans, [6] has details [7] too.

Bad news, this, for those who contend that America has been operating a top-secret hypersonic SR71 replacement all along. If the legendary "Aurora [8]" really exists, Blackswift is shaping up to be the most expensive and elaborate disinformation ploy ever. ®

*Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency