Lockheed Skunkworks chief Neal Kasena tells us that a Mach 5-plus class aircraft is certainly possible by 2018—the previously rumored deadline for a “prompt global strike” system—but that wouldn’t quite meet the desire to hit global targets in under an hour. For a Mach 5-class vehicle, he says, the Skunkworks has looked at using hydrocarbon fuels in a two-engine system—one a turbine for takeoff, climb, and descent/landing, and scramjets for super-high-altitude cruise. For the ultimate one-hour requirement, new fuels and a different technology would be needed—nearly doubling speed to Mach 9-plus—but the solution probably wouldn’t be available until the mid-2020s.
U.S. Central Command and American diplomats are working with nations surrounding Afghanistan on agreements to base troops and aircraft for counter terrorism inside the country following the military’s withdrawal. CENTCOM boss Gen. Kenneth F. “Frank” McKenzie Jr., in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee on April 20, said the…