October 17, 2006 :: Air Force Materiel Command :: News
Air Force Materiel Command reports that an Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate science and engineering team in Arlington, Virginia, is conducting hypersonic research that could lead to new warhead technologies. The team is studying the aerodynamic characteristics of hypersonic projectiles at sea-level conditions, traveling at equal to or greater than five times the speed of sound. Such projectiles normally fly at very high altitudes, and thus many basic questions about hypersonic flight at sea-level conditions have yet to be answered. The Air Force team is currently using highly advanced computational fluid dynamics codes to model hypersonic flows at speeds of around Mach 6. According to Dr. John D. Schmisseur, a program manager at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research which is funding the team, “We’ll be able to hopefully revolutionize some of the analysis tools to help develop new warhead technologies for the warfighter.”
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