The Ravn X satellite launch vehicle was unveiled in the U.S. for rapid satellite launches
The American aerospace company Aevum unexpectedly rolled out its Ravn X unmanned carrier aircraft at Long Beach Airport to conduct its first ground tests. The aircraft’s appearance came after several years of silence, which had led experts to doubt for a long time whether the project would continue.
The aircraft is a large autonomous flying vehicle measuring 24.4 meters in length with a wingspan of 18.3 meters. The aircraft is equipped with two engines that enable high-speed subsonic flight at altitudes of up to 18.3 kilometers. The developers first unveiled a prototype back in 2020, but the new public demonstration puzzled observers, who initially mistook it for the stealth fighter jet F-117 Nighthawk.
The Ravn X is being developed as the first stage of a commercial system for the rapid deployment of light satellites into low Earth orbit. Unlike other air-launch counterparts, such as Northrop Grumman’s “Pegasus” and Virgin Orbit’s “LauncherOne,” this drone provides additional acceleration to the rocket’s second stage before jettisoning it, which significantly speeds up the preparation and execution of space launches compared to traditional launch vehicles.
This was reported by TWZ.
In the U.S., Hypersonix Launch Systems conducted a successful test of the DART AE hypersonic aircraft, which is made entirely of high-temperature alloys using 3D printing.
The Chinese company Lingkong Tianxing unveiled the YKJ-1000 hypersonic missile, which can reach speeds of 5–7 Mach (6,125–8,575 km/h) and strike targets at distances of up to 1,300 km.
