,1,The Pentagon’s latest vision for a flying transport, that is able to operate from water. The ekranoplan, somewhere between a boat and a plane. Designed to glide at high speed over the surface of the water, by making use of ground effect, ekranoplans have so far found only very limited military usage, notably in the former Soviet Union, and it would mark a truly innovative departure if adopted by the U.S. armed forces.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has launched its Liberty Lifter project that aims to create a long-range, low-cost X-plane using the ekranoplan concept. The agency wants the craft to demonstrate seaborne strategic and tactical lift and says that the project should “demonstrate a leap in operational logistics capabilities.”
In a media release, DARPA explains: “The envisioned plane will combine fast and flexible strategic lift of very large, heavy loads with the ability to take off and land in water. Its structure will enable both highly controlled flight close to turbulent water surfaces and sustained flight at mid-altitudes. In addition, the plane will be built with a low-cost design and construction philosophy.”
These concerns have led to significant shifts in the way the entire U.S. military expects it may have to fight in the future and aerial transport, especially in the maritime domains of the Asia Pacific, has been a part of this new thinking.
,1,Aerojet Rocketdyne has been selected by Lockheed Martin to build an advanced solid rocket motor booster for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hypersonic weapon system, known as Operational Fires, or Op-Fires.
Op-Fires aims to develop and demonstrate a ground-launched missile system, enabling hypersonic boost-glide weapons to penetrate modern enemy air defenses and rapidly and precisely engage critical time-sensitive targets from a highly mobile launch platform. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control are leading the integration effort for the third phase of the program, which is focusing on missile design, launcher development, and vehicle integration. Aerojet Rocketdyne joins the Lockheed Martin-led Op-Fires team which includes Northrop Grumman, and Electronic Concepts & Engineering, Inc.
DARPA’s OpFires hypersonic weapon program to demonstrate a long-term solution for the Army’s medium and long-range capability, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s innovative variable-range rocket motor now enables OpFires to deliver payloads across the mid-range spectrum with a single, hypersonic missile,” said Jason Reynolds, vice president of Advanced Programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles.
Aerojet Rocketdyne provides a broad range of capabilities to support hypersonics, including scramjets and warheads. Having provided both the liquid and solid propulsion systems that powered the US Air Force-DARPA to hypersonic flight success, Aerojet Rocketdyne is now developing lightweight and robust solid rocket motor cases and incorporating additive manufacturing into its high performance air-breathing systems.
