DARPA Falcon HTV-2

DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) program is a multiyear research and development effort to increase the technical knowledge base and advance critical technologies to make long-duration hypersonic flight a reality.

The ultimate goal is a capability that can reach anywhere in the world in less than an hour.

Falcon HTV-2 is an unmanned, rocket-launched, maneuverable aircraft that glides through the Earth’s atmosphere at incredibly fast speeds—Mach 20 (approximately 13,000 miles per hour).  At HTV-2 speeds, flight time between New York City and Los Angeles would be less than 12 minutes.

The goal of the second flight is to validate current assumptions and increase technical understanding of the hypersonic flight regime. More than 20 test assets will collect continuous flight data to achieve this goal.






FROM http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/Falcon_HTV-2.aspx