Australian Team Discusses Composite Hypersonic Uav Project To Begin In July
29 March 2022
Hypersonix Launch Systems has provided further details about a project that was recently awarded a $2.95 million Cooperative Research Centres Projects grant, and which is scheduled to begin in July.
Last week Hypersonix was announced as lead of a project titled “DART CMP Airframe – a reusable hypersonic platform” that had earned support in Round 12 of the CRC-P program. The team includes Romar Engineering, LSM Advanced Composites, and University of Southern Queensland, and seeks to “deliver a new sovereign manufacturing capability for high temperature oxide-oxide ceramic matrix composites” for a reusable hypersonic craft.
The craft will use a SPARTAN scramjet engine developed by Hypersonix, fuelled by hydrogen, and capable of speeds up to Mach 12, according to the company. Hypersonic speed begins at roughly Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.
Hypersonix said the project will deliver elements including a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone) airframe “including composite aeroshell and aerodynamic control surfaces, flight avionics, and hydrogen fuel system.”
Source: Australian Manufacturing Forum