U.S. Miltary Plans Shape-Shifting Supersonic Bomber
By Noah Shachtman
posted: 16 July 2006
01:06 pm ET
For years, the U.S. military has wanted a plane that could loiter just outside enemy territory for more than a dozen hours and, on command, hurtle toward a target faster than the speed of sound. And then level it. But aircraft that excel at subsonic flight are inefficient at Mach speeds, and vice versa.
The answer is Switchblade, an unmanned, shape-changing plane concept under development by Northrop Grumman.
The unmanned Switchblade may use Small Diameter Bombs, whose wings unfold upon deployment to increase their range.
When completed (target date: 2020), it will cruise with its 200-foot-long wing perpendicular to its engines like a normal airplane. But just before the craft breaks the sound barrier, its single wing will swivel around 60 degrees (hence the name) so that one end points forward and the other back. This oblique configuration redistributes the shock waves that pile up in front of a plane at Mach speeds and cause drag.
With its long, thin wing in a standard configuration, the Switchblade can maintain subsonic-speeds for at least 15 hours as it waits for a mission.
With its wing cocked forward, the Switchblade flies at Mach 2 toward a target up to 2,500 nautical miles away.
When the Switchblade returns to subsonic speeds, the wing will rotate back to perpendicular.
Smart plan. Now for the hard part: designing the thing.
Darpa, the Pentagon’s way-out research arm, has coughed up $10.3 million to Northrop Grumman to produce a detailed blueprint by November 2007. A flying test vehicle is due about four years later. The initial concept calls for a single wing with engines situated in a pod underneath, along with munitions and surveillance equipment. This setup will enable the wing to pivot while the engines remain pointed in the direction the craft is traveling.
By Noah Shachtman
posted: 16 July 2006
01:06 pm ET
For years, the U.S. military has wanted a plane that could loiter just outside enemy territory for more than a dozen hours and, on command, hurtle toward a target faster than the speed of sound. And then level it. But aircraft that excel at subsonic flight are inefficient at Mach speeds, and vice versa.
The answer is Switchblade, an unmanned, shape-changing plane concept under development by Northrop Grumman.
The unmanned Switchblade may use Small Diameter Bombs, whose wings unfold upon deployment to increase their range.
When completed (target date: 2020), it will cruise with its 200-foot-long wing perpendicular to its engines like a normal airplane. But just before the craft breaks the sound barrier, its single wing will swivel around 60 degrees (hence the name) so that one end points forward and the other back. This oblique configuration redistributes the shock waves that pile up in front of a plane at Mach speeds and cause drag.
With its long, thin wing in a standard configuration, the Switchblade can maintain subsonic-speeds for at least 15 hours as it waits for a mission.
With its wing cocked forward, the Switchblade flies at Mach 2 toward a target up to 2,500 nautical miles away.
When the Switchblade returns to subsonic speeds, the wing will rotate back to perpendicular.
Smart plan. Now for the hard part: designing the thing.
Darpa, the Pentagon’s way-out research arm, has coughed up $10.3 million to Northrop Grumman to produce a detailed blueprint by November 2007. A flying test vehicle is due about four years later. The initial concept calls for a single wing with engines situated in a pod underneath, along with munitions and surveillance equipment. This setup will enable the wing to pivot while the engines remain pointed in the direction the craft is traveling.