Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 8. Propulsion advances

That is gone out the end of the limb and breaking it off as far a off topic and Scott will probably step in.

So the first comparisons is Arianne (sp?) and the failure to build the Ver 6 of their rocket and asking Space X for a ride for the crown jewel of Europe (Galileo nav satellite). Gasp. How are those same people and countries delivering dozens of aircraft a month? I mean really

Considering the basis of the point is not supported as its a reach in many ways as I am sure the provocateur knows.

The US has had many aircraft that pushed Mach 3 and one that did Mach 5. We gave them up. Why? They use a lot of fuel and do not have loiter time which is what you need and want from a reconnaissance aircraft. Oh, and they are seriously expensive.

The only benefit is a Mach 2.5+ aircraft of whatever type is much harder to intercept. Only missiles work and missiles have what is known as engagement envelopes. The U2 was hard to shoot at just because of its altitude, it had no speed to its name (way sub sonic). Still used as its a nice steady long loiter machine that stands off a coast in International Airspace (both China and the Russians have knocked aircraft out of the sky even in that non territorial airspace and by leaps and bounds not even close to on the edge).

Balloons are ideal but as we saw, if someone sees optically and then changes the coding in the software for Radar systems, well you stand out like a soar (pun intended) balloon.

And then someone shoots it down (over their territory) and the shootee gets all your Junk (pun also intended).

Ok, back to Mach 3 drones. The US used them all the time to test ship defense systems as (gasp) many missiles are Mach 3+.

Going Mach 3 is not an issue for someone sole focusing on that. The question is can you do any reconnaissance from it? Sure you can buzz up and down the Korean Peninsula (West Coast shown) or around Taiwan (well you have to plan for fuel depletion) and can you recover it? Is it one shot?

And all US Destroyers are equipped with missile system that can shoot down a bird like that. Also a system called Aegis Ashore that does the same.

Can a Patriot Missile System? I don't know. Its more an area defense system and I don't know if its engagement envelope takes in that type of target (its original design was to protect and area with incoming not a skimming the edge of a zone target)

As always there is a lot of tech background and understanding that does not lend itself to not just building aircraft, or at a high rate, but supporting a system like that and few have managed that. Quite a Plethora have built rockets.

So maybe Rocket Science is not so hard and a successful commercial aircraft enterprise is? Nah.