New Scramjet Test Far Exceeds Duration Record

The US Air Force, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney set a new record for supersonic flight yesterday. The X-51A WaveRider was launched from a B-52 and peeled away with hits supersonic-combustion ramjet engine at approximately Mach 5 for some three and a half minutes. The longest scramjet burn prior to yesterday's test lasted just twelve seconds. After terabytes of telemetry are analyzed, three more demonstrator aircraft will target even faster and longer flights.