The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Falcon program has progressed from wind tunnel testing and is gearing up for flight testing, says Stephen Welby, director of the agency’s Tactical Technology Office. Speaking at the Precision Strike Association’s winter meeting on Jan. 23, he said the program, which is maturing hypersonic technologies, would conduct flight experiments with Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2. This design features an airframe with a modified air shell to assess guidance and control subsystems at speeds up to Mach 20. HTV-2 will be invaluable in enabling researchers to understand the ability of a high-speed vehicle to withstand the stresses placed on the airframe and its protective thermal shell when it flies for an extensive time in the atmosphere, Welby said.
B-21 Bomber Shelter May Reveal Size of Secret Jet
March 3, 2021
The Air Force may have inadvertently revealed the size of the secret B-21 bomber with the release of an image of a temporary shelter for the airplane. The service is evaluating several designs for temporary shelters for everyday use and deployment to temporary operating locations. If the B-21 fully fits…