Aerojet Rocketdyne’s new dual-mode ramjet / scramjet undergoes testing in the 8ft-high temperature tunnel. Credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc.

Aerospace and defence company Aerojet Rocketdyne has successfully tested a dual-mode ramjet / scramjet (DMRJ) engine that would support the development of new hypersonic aircraft.

The series of tests were carried out as part of an on-going partnership of the company with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Nasa, and the US Air Force (USAF) to develop hypersonic propulsion technologies.

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The propulsion technologies will help develop the advanced hypersonic aircraft, which would be capable of performing conventional take-off and landing.

Aerojet Rocketdyne chief executive officer and president Eileen Drake said: “Developing hypersonic capabilities has recently been cited by the Department of Defense officials as the ‘highest technical priority’ for our nation.

“Aerojet Rocketdyne is well-positioned to support this call to action, as we have been developing hypersonic propulsion technologies for more than 30 years.

“Our scramjet engine powered the record-setting test flights of the X-51A WaveRider, and we have accelerated our development efforts since then.”

“Our scramjet engine powered the record-setting test flights of the X-51A WaveRider, and we have accelerated our development efforts since then.

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“That progress, when combined with the advances we’ve made in additive manufacturing, has enabled this next generation of hypersonic propulsion systems.”

The DMRJ engine, when combined with a gas turbine engine as part of a turbine-based combined cycle propulsion (TBCC) system, would have the capability to propel an aircraft from a halted position into the hypersonic flight regime of 5mach or higher and back again.

Conducted over a wider operating range than previously demonstrated, the tests also helped validate an advanced analytical tool set developed by the company that facilitates precise simulation of complex DMRJ flow fields across a broad variety of applications.