SILENT AIRCRAFT ENVISIONED LOCKHEED MARTIN STUDIES NO-BOOM SUPERSONIC FLIGHT.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. Advanced Development Co. is working under a $2.4 million contract on studies aimed at creating a military aircraft that can fly at supersonic speeds - quietly. The ``Quiet Supersonic Platform'' program is focused on finding breakthrough technologies to let an aircraft achieve long-range supersonic flight Supersonic flight Relative motion of a solid body and a gas at a velocity greater than that of sound propagation under the same conditions. The general characteristics of supersonic flight can be understood by considering the laws of propagation of a with minimal sonic boom noise. The program is not aimed at building an operational aircraft, but at providing technologies that could lead to new or improved systems for military bombers and fighters, reconnaissance aircraft and supersonic commercial aircraft, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the defense agency funding it. Such technologies would allow commercial and military aircraft to fly unrestricted over land rather than being restricted to certain ranges or, as in the case of the Concorde passenger jet, being restricted to trans-Atlantic flights. The technologies could lead to a small military supersonic strike aircraft that would perform more missions per day, deliver more weapons on target and provide a rapid, long-range response capability, said the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), U.S. government agency administered by the Department of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). . DARPA DARPA: see Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) The name given to the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency during the 1980s. It was later renamed back to ARPA. also awarded a similar contract, valued at $2.6 million, to Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. . Aircraft engine manufacturer General Electric is working under a $3 million DARPA contract to develop high-performance nozzle technology and advanced jet fan technology for the program. The objectives of the program are to have an aircraft that would weigh 100,000 pounds; cruise at speeds of Mach 2 to Mach 2.4, roughly between 1,400 mph to 1,680 mph; and have an unrefueled range of 6,000 miles. By comparison, DARPA said, the Concorde weighs 400,000 pounds, cruises at Mach 2, and has an unrefueled range of 3,550 miles. The program's goals are for the aircraft to have a sonic boom of no greater than .3 pounds per square foot. A Concorde flying at an altitude of 50,000 feet creates a sonic boom of 1.94 pounds per square foot; a space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. returning to Earth causes a sonic boom of 1.25 pounds per square foot. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The Quiet Supersonic Platform aircraft drawn by an artist at Lockheed Martin would be a technological breakthrough. Lockheed Martin |
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