Moscow, August 12: Russian companies are working on radically novel models of aircraft, including hypersonic jets that will be able to develop speeds of up to 6M, Colonel General Alexander Zelin, Chief of Staff of Air Force said.
“The Russian Air Force is doing research in this area and our institutes engage in the development of radically novel vehicles and systems,” Gen Zelin said on Tuesday in a press conference.
The Mach number signified by the capital letter M is roughly computed as 1,225 kilometres per hour. Under certain physical conditions, it corresponds to the speed of sound. Speeds exceeding 5M are considered to be hypersonic.
He admitted there have been no customer orders for such technologies so far and the research is being done at the theoretic level.
The press service of Defence Ministry said earlier that development of a hypersonic drone equipped with a pulse detonation ramjet may begin in Russia soon.
“The bureau for grants admitted to the second phase of a competition on a number of works presented by research groups,” a spokesman for the press service said.
One of these groups is doing a research into the use of small units of drones in the integrated systems of reconnaissance for compelling the enemy forces to reveal their ground-based air defences in the zones of local conflicts. This method is based on tactics of reconnaissance-in-force.
Another group of researchers is designing a method for selection of the most efficient thrust system for hypersonic drones. It has conducted hot-test trials of the pulse detonation ramjets.
–Agencies