Stratolaunch Conducts Second 'Captive Carry' Flight Test For Hypersonic Vehicles

Stratolaunch, conducted the second "captive carry" flight test of reusable hypersonic vehicles. (photo; x @Stratolaunch)

JAKARTA - The United States private company, Stratolaunch, conducted a second "cative carry" flight test of reusable hypersonic vehicles. This was announced on Saturday, February 24, as the Pentagon continues to accelerate the development of new hypersonic weapons.

"Captive carry" is a term used in flight testing to refer to conditions in which an aircraft or spacecraft (usually to be tested) is installed or transported by another larger aircraft or carrier, but is not separated from the carrier during the flight.

Stratolaunch flight-A is indeed loaded with a live propellant and transported by Spirit of Mojave, a modified Boeing 747-400 with two fuselages, in a more than four-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean.

In the context of flight tests as mentioned above, "cative carry" means that hypersonic Stratolaunch fire-A vehicles are transported by Spirit of Mojave carriers without being released during flight. The goal is to collect data or carry out certain tests on vehicles transported, without entering the self-flying stage of the vehicle.

During the captive carry test, the aircraft was not separated from the carrier.

This vehicle will be used to carry hypersonic weapons systems during its development. Component makers can test machines, sensors, and communication equipment above a version that can be reused from badminton in the future.

The US and its global rivals are speeding up their work on hypersonic weapons, the next generation of weapons that rob enemy reaction time and can evade traditional defense mechanisms.

Hypersonic weapons move in the upper atmosphere with more than five times the speed of sound, or about 6,200 km per hour.

Gun-making companies such as Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp, and RTX Corp have all promoted their hypersonic weapons programs.

Defense contractors hope to take advantage of the shift to hypersonic weapons not only by building them but also by developing a new system to detect and defend themselves against them.

Stratolaunch berharap dapat menyelesaikan pengembangan ruju-A yang dapat digunakan kembali ini tahun ini.