Category: Jet

Reaction Engines, a UK-based aerospace company, is in discussions with Whitehall to secure a £20 million financial boost to support the continued development of its revolutionary hybrid jet-rocket engine amid mounting losses and slow revenue growth. The company aims to pioneer a new era of hypersonic flight, promising that its engines could one day reduce travel time across the globe to just a few hours.

The company’s flagship technology, the “Sabre” engine (Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine), has been under development for years and is designed to achieve speeds of Mach 5 within Earth’s atmosphere and potentially Mach 25 in space. To put that into perspective, Mach 5 is more than three times faster than the iconic Concorde and over twice the speed of the SR-71 Blackbird, the world’s fastest jet-powered aircraft. These advances could enable the creation of high-speed planes, referred to as the “Sons of Concorde.”

In a groundbreaking development for the aviation industry, Embraer has introduced the first automatic takeoff system on one of its commercial jets. The Embraer Enhanced Takeoff System (E2TS) is designed to provide its E2 passenger aircraft with an optimal profile and automated takeoff, increasing fuel capacity, extending range, and boosting onboard payload.

Unveiled on July 23 at the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom, the Brazilian manufacturer claims that the E2TS improves rotation and trajectory, reduces field length, and lessens pilot workload without requiring any aircraft modifications beyond a software update.

Imagine reducing the travel time between Los Angeles and Sydney from 15 hours to just 3 hours. It sounds like science fiction, but Charles Bombardier, the grandson of the aviation giant Bombardier, believes this could become a reality in the foreseeable future. Charles Bombardier, a mechanical engineer, leads a nonprofit organization named Imaginactive, which has developed numerous ambitious and world-changing concepts. One of these is the Paradoxal hypersonic jet, designed to travel at an astonishing Mach 24, nearly 16,000 mph.

At this incredible speed, the Paradoxal could fly from JFK to Heathrow, London—a distance of 3,450 miles—in just 11 minutes. The jet’s designer, Juan Garcia Mansilla, collaborated with scientists and engineers, including professionals from NASA, to develop this concept. The Paradoxal resembles a futuristic version of the B2 stealth bomber and the peregrine falcon, the world’s fastest bird during its dive to catch prey.

Atlanta-based startup Hermeus has recently unveiled its first flight vehicle, marking a significant stride toward the realization of a groundbreaking hypersonic aircraft. The company aims to revolutionize air travel with aircraft capable of flying at speeds exceeding Mach 5, or approximately 3,836 miles per hour, without relying on rocket engines. Unlike previous hypersonic vehicles that required deployment from larger aircraft, Hermeus is pioneering a new approach by developing jet-powered planes capable of taking off from conventional runways, thereby expanding their potential applications.

The innovative endeavor by Hermeus involves the construction of two distinct hypersonic aircraft. The first, known as Darkhorse, will serve as an uncrewed, reusable drone tailored for military applications. The second aircraft, named Halcyon, holds promise as a commercial passenger plane, potentially slashing the travel time between major destinations such as New York and London to a mere 90 minutes.

A European company aims to revolutionize air travel with its sustainable hypersonic jet prototype set to cut flight times by 75%.

Destinus, the Swiss-based company, has already flown two prototypes successfully and is now preparing for a third test flight to evaluate the fuel systems. The design of the jet is based on the “Waverider” shape, also used in hypersonic cruise missiles and the Concorde jet, enabling it to “ride” the sound barrier.