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posted by chromas on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:00AM   Printer-friendly

China claims to have successfully tested its first hypersonic aircraft

China claims to have successfully tested its first hypersonic aircraft, a big step forward in aerospace technology that could intensify pressure on the US military. The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), based in Beijing and part of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, conducted the first test of the "Starry Sky-2" aircraft last Friday.

Hypersonic vehicles are not simply high-speed -- they travel at least at five times the speed of sound. That's fast enough to travel across the US in around 30 minutes. According to a CAAA statement released Monday, the Starry Sky-2 reached a top speed of Mach 6 -- six times the speed of sound, or 4,563 miles (7,344 kilometers) per hour.

The test was a "complete success," claimed CAAA, which posted photos of the test launch on social media platform WeChat. "The Starry Sky-2 flight test project was strongly innovative and technically difficult, confronting a number of cutting-edge international technical challenges." The CAAA did not indicate what the new aircraft or technology would be used for, other than to say they hoped to continue contributing to China's aerospace industry.

Also at Quartz and NextBigFuture.

Related: General: U.S. Has No Defense Against "Hypersonic Weapons"


Original Submission

Related Stories

General: U.S. Has No Defense Against "Hypersonic Weapons" 18 comments

China and Russia are 'aggressively pursuing' hypersonic weapons, and the US can't defend against them, top nuclear commander says

America's top nuclear commander described a grim scenario for U.S. forces facing off against a new breed of high-speed weapons that Russia and China are developing.

"We don't have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us," Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. This means that, as of now, the U.S. has to rely on deterrence against these so-called hypersonic weapons, he said.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., then asked the general to explain what a hypersonic weapon is and what it does. "A hypersonic threat is a system that starts out ballistic, so you'll see it like a ballistic missile, but then it depresses the trajectory and flies more like a cruise missile or airplane," Hyten said. "It goes up into the lower reaches of space and turns immediately back down and then levels out." At that point, Hyten said, the weapon will fly at very high speed, which is where the term hypersonic comes from.

"Both Russia and China are aggressively pursuing hypersonic capabilities," Hyten told Inhofe. "We've watched them test those capabilities."

See also: Russia will put advanced mach 20 hypersonic boost and glide missile into service in 2019


Original Submission

Russia Successfully Tests New Hypersonic Tsirkon Missile 16 comments

Russia successfully tests new hypersonic Tsirkon missile:

Russia says it has successfully tested a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile in a move hailed by President Vladimir Putin as a "great event" for the country.

The military said on Wednesday that the Tsirkon missile was fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea on Tuesday morning in the Russian Arctic and successfully hit its target.

Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military's General Staff, told Putin – who turned 68 on Wednesday – that it was the first time the missile had successfully struck a target at sea.

"The tasks of the launch were carried out. The test-fire was successful," he told Putin. Gerasimov said the missile hit its target 450 kilometres (280 miles) away in the Barents Sea and reached a speed of Mach 8 – eight times the speed of sound.

China and America have also been developing hypersonic missiles.

Previously:
US Hails New Milestone in Development of Hypersonic Weapons
Russia Takes Lead by Deploying Hypersonic Nuclear Warheads First
Air-Breathing Engine Precooler Achieves Record-Breaking Mach 5 Performance
Putin Hails Successful Test Of Russia's New Hypersonic Missile
China Tests Hypersonic Aircraft "Starry Sky-2"
General: U.S. Has No Defense Against "Hypersonic Weapons"
Hypersonic Cruise Missile Scores USD$175m DARPA Cash


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:38AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:38AM (#719143)

    Deliver Chinese food at 5x the speed of sound. Now your eggrolls won't be soggy by the time you get them.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:42AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:42AM (#719148)

      Eggrolls are not Chinese. They were invented by the Romans around 125 b.c.

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @07:13AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @07:13AM (#719275)

        Last time I checked, my local Roman restaurant didn't deliver.

        • (Score: 2) by ewk on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:04PM

          by ewk (5923) on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:04PM (#719323)

          s/local Roman restaurant/pizzeria/

          There you are.... delivery all the way up to your doorstep..
          Still no eggrolls though :-D

          --
          I don't always react, but when I do, I do it on SoylentNews
    • (Score: 4, Funny) by Grishnakh on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:24AM (2 children)

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:24AM (#719176)

      Don't be ridiculous. "Chinese" food served in America isn't really even Chinese, it's an Americanized bastardization.

      No, the real purpose of these planes is to deliver your goods from Aliexpress faster and put Amazon out of business.

      • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday August 09 2018, @06:06PM (1 child)

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday August 09 2018, @06:06PM (#719516) Journal

        Don't be ridiculous. "Chinese" food served in America isn't really even Chinese, it's an Americanized bastardization.

        The documentary "Finding General Tso" was really interesting if you're into the history surrounding that stuff. It was on Netflix a while back...

        • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Sunday August 12 2018, @02:40AM

          by Grishnakh (2831) on Sunday August 12 2018, @02:40AM (#720434)

          That does sound interesting, especially since I love General Tso's chicken (though of course I know it isn't authentic Chinese). Thanks for the pointer.

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:40AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:40AM (#719146)

    If our species had a workable, humane way to manage the size of our population relative to the available resources, then phrases such as "technology that could intensify pressure on the US military" would be accepted as the stupid notions that they are.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:44AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:44AM (#719149)

      What resources have you missed lately?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @07:15AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @07:15AM (#719276)

        Compassion for the US's military industrial complex?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:44AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:44AM (#719150)

      The U.S. military is doing its best to manage the size of the islamist population relative to the available resources, you insensitive clod. If you would increase their budget they could get the job done faster.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:00PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:00PM (#719345)

        some argue that only china can deal with islam in the future because they are not as ham-strung with a basic tenant called "human rights".
        adhering to a rule to not punch below the waist line is stupid if your opponent has a different rule set?

        fortunately one rule eclipses all other rules: Profit!
        ^_^

  • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:45AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:45AM (#719151)

    If our species had a workable, humane way to manage the size of our population relative to the available resources, then phrases such as "technology that could intensify pressure on the US military" would be accepted as the stupid notions that they are.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:47AM (6 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 09 2018, @12:47AM (#719152) Journal

    Don't worry! When F35 will be flight-worthy... any day now.

    (grin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:00AM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:00AM (#719158)

      Space Force

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:04AM (2 children)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:04AM (#719161) Journal

        Ends up fighting the Chinese on the ground and aliens in the space.

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:09AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:09AM (#719166)

          The aliens, that is.

          • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday August 09 2018, @05:28PM

            by bob_super (1357) on Thursday August 09 2018, @05:28PM (#719485)

            Haven't you heard we're about to go to war with legal aliens too, and probably with their US citizen children ?
            Trump is probably trying to get rid of some of his children...

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:11AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:11AM (#719167) Journal

        Space Force

        Haven't we established that the primary purpose of Space Force is to grope the travelers before embarking on space tourism trips?
        Do you want another 9/11 but with space planes?
        What if one of the tourists slips a 20-foot-long, 1-foot-diameter tungsten rod [wikipedia.org] on board and drops it on Mar-a-Lago?

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Thursday August 09 2018, @03:26AM

      by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <axehandleNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Thursday August 09 2018, @03:26AM (#719224)

      Don't worry! When F35 will be flight-worthy... any day now.

      (grin)

      And we might even be able to afford a 10% deposit on one. If it happens before next week.

      --
      It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:03AM (4 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:03AM (#719159)

    "Thank you China ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you !
    Now we have a successful test to point to, so we can scare politicians and gobble billions of dollars building some counter-measure that will never ever be used!
    Garcon, another round of champagne, please!"
    Raytheon, Northrop, Boeing, and friends...

  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday August 09 2018, @02:50AM (4 children)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Thursday August 09 2018, @02:50AM (#719203)

    China claims to have successfully tested its first hypersonic aircraft, a big step forward in aerospace technology that could intensify pressure on the US military. The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), based in Beijing and part of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, conducted the first test of the "Starry Sky-2" aircraft last Friday.

    I see one big difference right here between Chinese military tech development and that of the US: here in the US, they like to locate this stuff in awful, backwater places like Alabama where no decent engineers want to move. Apparently, China puts their development right in the main cities where it isn't hard to find qualified help.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @04:14PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @04:14PM (#719442)

      You find patriotic Chinese people living in Beijing, not out in the southwestern Uighur area.

      You find patriotic American people living in Alabama, not out in the western Antifa area.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @10:27PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @10:27PM (#719656)

        So you're saying stupid people like the eastern areas?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @11:07PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @11:07PM (#719673)

        You find a river in Huntsville, so you build railroads to connect with river traffic. After river shipments become less important due to the railroads, you build roads too. Then when WW2 breaks out you freak out and look for good strategic locations anywhere that have transport and aren't vulnerable to attack so Huntsville looks pretty good so you build a huge chemical plant and later a missile depot. Then after the war you've got a bunch of missile guys there, so you decide to build space rockets and eventually the Saturn series there.

        It's got nothing to do with patriotism or any of that junk.

        • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Sunday August 12 2018, @02:42AM

          by Grishnakh (2831) on Sunday August 12 2018, @02:42AM (#720435)

          That's all correct: Huntsville (and also Oak Ridge, TN) were basically planned communities built for WWII or the Cold War.

          However, that's all in the past now, and software is what's really big now, and is critical for building anything. Good luck finding plenty of software engineers willing to move to Alabama to work on some big government-related project.

  • (Score: 2) by Murdoc on Thursday August 09 2018, @10:51PM

    by Murdoc (2518) on Thursday August 09 2018, @10:51PM (#719662) Homepage

    And so soon after their previous technological breakthrough, the Flying Toaster.

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