Air Force's Mayhem Project Tied To Hypersonic Engines For Planes Such As The SR-72
The service wants these hypersonic demonstrators to have advanced air-breathing jet engines at their core.
By Joseph TrevithickAugust 21, 2020
The War Zone
The U.S. Air Force's latest hypersonic development program, called Mayhem, looks to be aimed at acquiring expendable testbeds for new advanced jet engines, including turbine-based combined cycle designs. This type of engine, which blends together the capabilities of traditional jet turbines and high-speed ramjets and scramjets, is seen as a holy grail when it comes to developing viable hypersonic aircraft, such as Lockheed Martin's in-development SR-72.
Aviation Week was first to confirm a direct link between Mayhem and this "multi-cycle" engine work for a story it published on Aug. 20, 2020. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) had first publicly announced the project in a contracting announcement calling for information about a potential "Expendable Hypersonic Multi-Mission Air-Breathing Demonstrator" design on Aug. 12. The Air Force expects the Mayhem demonstrator to be larger than the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) hypersonic missile and be able to carry at least three separate payloads per flight.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/35921/air-forces-mayhem-project-tied-to-hyperonic-engines-for-planes-such-as-the-sr-72
