The USAF’s X-51A Waverider has completed the first demo flight with a B-52 Stratofortress over Edwards Air Force Base, California, in preparation to light its supersonic combustion ramjet engine.

Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio X-51A programme manager Charlie Brink said the next B-52/X-51 flight test mission is expected in mid-January, and will be a full dress rehearsal, for its first hypersonic test flight, now planned for mid-February.

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The Air Force Flight Test Center’s B-52 will carry the unmanned X-51A to nearly 50,000ft over the Pacific Ocean, in February, and then release it.

Following the release, a solid rocket booster from an army tactical missile system will ignite and accelerate the X-51 to Mach 4.5.

Soon after this, the booster will be jettisoned and the X-51A’s supersonic combustion ramjet propulsion system will ignite and operate for about 300 seconds, propelling the cruiser to more than six times the speed of sound.

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During the test, before the cruiser plunges into the Pacific, onboard sensors will transmit data to ground systems.

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The Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne-developed X-51’s scramjet engine, will burn a mix of ethylene and JP-7 fuel, in the beginning, before switching completely to JP-7.

The fuel-cooled design of X-51’s engine will heat the JP-7 to an optimum combustion temperature, as well help the engine to endure extremely high operating temperatures during the long burn.

During the demo flight test on 9 December, the X-51 was in the air for 1.4 hours.

B-52 project pilot Lt. Col. Daniel Millman said after take off we climbed to 50,000ft and verified B-52 aircraft performance, handling qualities with the X-51A attached to the B-52, control room displays and software integration with the X-51A.

“The B-52 handled ‘great’ and the flight preceded as planned,” he said.