Fastest Military Aircraft

Illustration of Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV) 2 reentry phase

What do you think is the fastest aircraft ? Well, according to DARPA officials, it is the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2(HTV-2) which crashed in Pacific Ocean in its recent test. This has been billed as the fastest aircraft ever built.

This aircraft, in its flight, reached speeds around Mach 20(about 13,000 mph) and was able to control itself for around three minutes and according to Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA) officials who witnessed the flight, it experience some anomaly and prompted to the vehicle's autonomous flight safety system to guide it to a controlled splashdown in Pacific on 11th August. The HTV-2 is a part of an advanced weapons program called Conventional Prompt Global Strike, which is working to develop systems to reach to enemy locations anywhere in the world within an hour.It is launched on a rocket, and then it comes streaking back to the earth at tremendous speeds, heating upto temperatures about 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit(2199.81667 K).

The anomaly for this flight is yet unknown. DARPA director, Rugina Dugan said, "We do not yet know the cause of the anomaly for Flight 2.". According to HTV-2's program manager Chris Schulz, the Flight 2 anomaly is unrelated to Flight 1 anomaly (which was tested in April 2010).

Shortly, an independent review board would look into the Flight -2 anomaly. After this anomaly of the vehicle is corrected and encounters no other problems, in my opinion, it might be used in army.

Share