Figuring out GE Aerospace's hypersonic aircraft engine breakthrough

[@SandboxxApp]

Go to ground.news/Sandboxx to access data driven information. Subscribe through my link for less than $1/month or get 40% off unlimited access this month only.

[@kbeasley72]

Can this engine be used to get to space or low orbit?

[@geraldmarshall22]

😊

[@lanecole-jc4pm]

Great news about GEs rotating ignition, I still don't know how it works

[@steveshoemaker6347]

We know that its already in use don't we.....Thanks Alex🇺🇸 for all of your excellent research that goes into your fine videos......... Merry Christmas to you and yours...

[@thehobbyguy7089]

From the Movie Stealth: "The Talon is capable of hypersonic flight with two combined Pulse Detonation/Scramjet engines." Science fiction has become reality.

[@machdaddy6451]

This makes me really appreciate how truely advanced, for its time, the SR-71s J58 engine was.

[@RealKlausSchwab]

💯 % They were designing jet engines that utilize the nose cone shock waves to work properly in a fuselage so advanced it was inadvertently stealthy... in the fifties while writing and designing on pen and paper with a straight edge for reference. Absolutely amazing.

[@ronkreed]

I appreciate the same thing.

[@frankmcgowan9457]

Slide rules...

[@amazin7006]

It was advanced, but just for some perspective, a single F22 F119 engine produces 10,000 pounds more thrust, or about 40% more while weighing 2000 pounds less or about 35% lighter.

[@sundhaug92]

@@amazin7006 The complexity of the J58 came from how big the speed-range it had to deal with was

[@rustymustard7798]

The biggest hurdle is going to be finding an acronym for the fancy dual mode rotating detonation turbo fanjet thingy.

[@Hungary_0987]

Yes lol😂

[@YmusAnon]

Dmrdj

[@vanguard9067]

FanScramDetJet. There, done:-)

[@rustymustard7798]

@@vanguard9067 It doesn't count because you didn't spend $20 million tax dollars to create it. Also it makes too much sense.

[@johnle6982]

Where is the rotating moniker?

[@erasmus_locke]

Does anyone else think it's funny how turbo fans are mechanically complex but the easiest to make them work whereas scramjets are just a tube but are incredibly hard to make them work?

[@zspud21]

Toob

[@hussarguitar]

This is a great illustration of the difference between simple and easy. It also shows that just because something is simple doesn't mean it's easy.

[@merlesmith6794]

Then think about how complex a piston engine is and how much gearing and machining is required to create “power”.

[@rokadamlje5365]

More like, mechanics makes it possible to control the air. Scramjet is too hot for mechanics. Well thats my view.

[@kurtwinslow2670]

@@rokadamlje5365 I think your correct metallurgy is limited by temperature and pressure.

[@brandonhultgren5776]

To quote Perun: “When most have to chose an option, the US (and GE) just says yes.”

[@rudolphmarchand9644]

As a 74 year old geezer, much of this video zooms over my dome at hypersonic speed! Still an interesting presentation! Thanks.😵‍💫

[@Tam0de]

Hey, you were once a strapping young man at some point. And we'll all get to where you are at some point. It's all a matter of time!

[@chipsawdust5816]

I'm 65 but have been in the aviation business for over 2/3 of that time so I got a bit more of it...maybe!

[@LettuCe_0199]

This was an excellently created video, and I appreciate how you walked through all the technologies like we never heard them before to really grasp how big of a deal this is

[@jayl878]

It really is a good video. I had to rewind a couple of parts a couple of times to ensure I understood it. I have a grasp on it now. Thank you for the great descriptions and graphics to illustrate a complex subject in a more simple way.

[@LA-ep2nr]

Outstanding presentation as usual. Hooah!!!

[@philatwood2086]

And Kitty Hawk was only 120 years ago.. amazing technological advancements since then. I really appreciate the clear and concise explanations you give in "layman understandable" language... Bravo Zulu

[@jamesholden5664]

I'm sure the chineese appreciate the clear and concise explanation to.

[@philatwood2086]

If this info was released to OUR public, there is no way China hadn't been aware of the tech already. It's not a secret.. it's not so much how something works as much as can it be built.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

This sounds like the aviation equivalent of cars going from carburetters to direct fuel injection 👍

[@jayantadebnath781]

I still use carburetor for the Cessna 172 I fly.

[@n111254789]

Yeah, people in developing nations still plow fields using horses too we ain't saying it don't work just saying there is distinct technological leaps and this is one of em'

[@vanguard9067]

Maybe add transition from low-compression flathead to high-compression dual OHC too.

[@vanguard9067]

@@n111254789a leap for sure.

[@helldad4689]

Honestly it might be even bigger. Like if fuel injection, turbochargers, and hybrid powertrains all dropped at the same time. If they can get it working reliably enough for military use, it might be able to power the atmospheric leg of an SSTO spaceplane launch. That's probably a few generations away though.

[@truvc]

YESSSSS! I’ve been waiting excitedly to hear more about RDEs for so long! They always seemed like they had such huge potential

[@jtjames79]

NASA just fired a RDRE for over 4 minutes. That's more than enough for a rocket stage.

[@vanguard9067]

I wonder at what altitude you need to BYOO (Bring Your Own Oxidizer)

[@Hebdomad7]

​@@vanguard9067depends on how fast you're going.

[@w8stral]

For rockets RDRE makes 100% sense as they need the TIME quotient of thrust to be longer as the time component is squared while the acceleration component is linear and ALSO allows them to have a larger throttle envelope which currently is severely lacking in rocket motors. This is not true in current turbine designs. Maybe it is for scramjets(I do not know, not something I have studied, but varying the opening size would seem to be a fairly effective throttle) Rockets can squeeze the oxygen, but its combustion chamber is fixed in volume whereas in a turboscramjet it is not as limiting factor is fuel in a small volumetric area already.

[@vanguard9067]

@@Hebdomad7 there must be some maximum altitude where there is is insufficient oxygen to support sufficient combustion to maintain thrust. Thinking specifically about the comment about using the engine as a rocket stage.

[@fxarts9755]

@@vanguard9067 the RDRE that nasa tested was a rocket engine with oxidizer. so they work outside the atmosphere. ngl i never heared of rdre in the sense of a normal air breathing jet engine

[@Noisy_Cricket]

Just FYI, the great thing about a rotation detonation engine is that they work both in space and air. In space, for the RDE to work, you just need to carry liquid oxygen with you. You can throw LOX into an RDE and continue to fly with no problem.

[@maddantt7757]

Thanks for covering this, Alex. Love your videos!

[@ryanroper628]

Some of your best content yet bro. Love the Deep dive on each part of the motor

[@RichardBejtlich]

This was so well explained that I’m sharing it with my USAFA FB group. Hopefully it gets in front of the cadets so they understand the tech they will be flying soon. 👏

[@jloiben12]

Makes me glad I have an interview with GE next week

[@vanguard9067]

Good luck with the interview!

[@daveyhansen]

Shine your shoes.

[@philtorrez4198]

Hope you have a nice tie!

[@daveyhansen]

Shoes are most important. It is what people judger you on first, so I am told. Maybe a nice neck tatoo that says "Ram This" would help.@@philtorrez4198

[@MrTmenzo]

Washing machine department 😜

[@HATTRICKKELLETT]

This is a legitimate great press + engineering synopses. -Aerospace Engineer

[@crazzylee]

I watched the test-firing of the rotation, detonation engine the other day. It looks a lot better than when I first heard of the engine. From seconds to now minutes.

[@kalebbruwer]

Some estimates put the theoretical upper limit of scramjets at around mach 24, which happens to be pretty close to orbital velocity. I don't know enough to say if that will actually be possible, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on

[@georgesikimeti2184]

Would any materials survived at this speed considering the heat it generates,it didn’t mention here but certainly a vital part in the puzzle.

[@kalebbruwer]

@@georgesikimeti2184 You are right, and it would make rocket engineering significantly more complicated than it is today. But the rocket equation is exponential so any increase in efficiency is a big deal. I'm just wondering if it will be feasible several decades from now

[@heinous70]

It took a while, but GE collaborating with Honda on the Honda Jet, has finally brought us a VTEC jet engine 🤣

[@jlehm]

Looked more like the passport20 to me.

[@MrCashewkitty]

Been a while since ive watched Sandboxx. Im always left impressed at the delivery and ability to make an interested layman such as myself grasp whats being covered. Well done....as always.

[@heathwirt8919]

Another great and informative video Alex, thank you for that. Hope you feel better soon and have a great holiday.

[@francishill6365]

Thank you Sir, this was by far the most exciting break through to ponder the US's continued dominance of the sky.

[@Aaron-zu3xn]

now think of it on a missile welcome to the Sentinel program the ICBM of the future

[@nineofnine]

Spoken like a true Alpha country.

[@tropicthndr]

Now if we could just produce some dominance over the southern border before our country turns to sht, all this would be worth while.

[@codprawn]

China has more advanced than this apparently. Also look at the British Reaction Engines Sabre. Getting a lot of interest from the US. Be nice if we had got a mention.

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

​@@codprawn how so?

[@shenmisheshou7002]

An engine such as this has very limited application. The reason is the hypersonic flight envelope is very restricted. The faster you go, the more ballistic your flight path has to get. You have to go very high to avoid the extreme air-frame heating and when you do that, your stall speed approaches your cruise speed. The U2 and the SR-71 both had this issue. The A-12 took 150 miles and about 4 minutes to make a 180 degree turn. For Vietnam and Laos, the A12 and SR-71 could take off from Kadena, fly over Vietnam and Laos, descend and turn over Thailand, Climb back to 79,000, cross back over Laos and Vietnam and return to Kadena. While we could do this in the middle east, such an airplane would not really be able to safely overfly China or Russia, and these are really the only places where you would need hypersonic flight. Otherwise, the primary use would likely be more along the lines of an "Interceptor'" but even here, if you were closing on stealthy jet traveling at Mach 1 towards you at 40,000 feet (closing speed of 70 miles a minute) by the time you detected them you would have only seconds to get a radar lock and if they were not more or less directly in front of you, it is doubtful that a missile launched at such an altitude and speed could even turn in time to make the intercept. (At Mach 6.5, the X-15 needed a special ablative coating. and even with this, the aircraft suffered damage during these high mach flights. Cooling an aircraft flying at this speed for more than a few minutes would be a serious problem.) Airliners would be a better application because they don't have to turn mid flight. One could take off from London and NY in a more or less ballistic flight path but the problem here would be range. Even if this engine was 50% more efficient than the J-58, the range would likely still be less that 4000nm, and here the problem is the 45 minutes of reserve fuel that is required for commercial airliners.

[@j.f.fisher5318]

the other side of the interceptor question is that a missile uses most of its fuel just getting up to speed. Combined with hit-to-kill this would allow very miniaturized weapons or weapons with enormous range. And at high altitude then any missile is also benefitting from conversion of potential energy to help maintain its kinetic energy. How big of a hit-to-kill glide bomb would you need to top-attack kill a tank? And how many of those could you carry?

[@shenmisheshou7002]

@@j.f.fisher5318 The biggest issue with using them as a weapon is simply the cost. For a one time use, a simple and inexpensive solid fuel motor is a far better choice. Also, as we have learned from the war in Ukraine, Tanks are extremely susceptible to attack by MANPADS. In fact, the Marines could see this vulnerability and with the enormous logistics required to keep a tank battalion on the move, they decided that it was better to have drones than tanks, and when they made this decision about 5 years ago, the vast majority of people thought the Marines were crazy. I was in the very small minority that actually was a Marine and was all to familiar with the limitations of tanks. In fact, during Desert Storm, helicopters, Bradly's, A-10s combined killed far more tanks than the Abrams did.

[@hazard3020]

A while ago now but USSR detected Gary Powers travelling quickly at 75000+ ft.... and 4-5 were lost at a similar altitude near China.

[@shenmisheshou7002]

@@hazard3020 As far as I know, two U2s were shot down. Powers in 1960 while overflying the USSR, and Ronald Anderson, shot down on a flight over Cuba in 62. There were no SR-71s shot down, but I think 12 lost in accidents. There is limited application for hypersonic recon aircraft because Drones are fine for tier 3 nations like Iraq or Syria and the National Reconnaissance Office has 49 active spy satellites, and these have better resolution than can be achieved in aircraft at high altitudes. while there may be some small demand for a hypersonic airliner, it is doubtful that one could be profitable. There may be a market for small, private hypersonic business jets though.

[@hazard3020]

@@shenmisheshou7002 Many thanks for your kind reply. Yes that's what i remembered. I agree with you that Satellites provide far better long term solutions.

[@joebeach7759]

I think the major engineering problem is building an aircraft that can handle high Mach speeds. What materials can handle the heat. All the liquids on the SR-71 were preheated and specially formulated. Especially the fuel, which was also used for cooling. Weapons may be feasible, something that is 1 time use, but something that's going to last long enough to be financially feasible is going to be rough

[@Boomkokogamez]

Well, Sr-71 use tech from 1960s. A lot has advanced since then. So it shouldn't really be a problem.

[@RAWDEAL064]

I think this will be more useful, and subsequently pushed harder, for unmanned craft

[@enginerdy]

“financially feasible”

[@joebeach7759]

@@enginerdy nothing is "financially feasible " then you're 32 trillion in the hole.

[@chipsawdust5816]

I vote for ceramic leading edges.

[@MaxQ2989]

Alex, your reporting and videos are simply “next level”! Please keep it up and great work!!

[@AerialWaviator]

Excellent coverage of RDE's. If there's a need to go even faster, or to space, check out the work of Stoke Space and their use of RDE's to make reusable spacecraft. No need to add a 5th stage to the multi-stage engine, just need an extra tank to cary some lox.

[@georgesikimeti2184]

….no air no lox!!,

[@ronbridegroom8428]

You are great at explaining very complicated subjects in an understandable manner. Merry Christmas

[@beingsentient]

No he isn't. He never explains what rotating detonation really is.

[@heathwirt8919]

Hopefully this technology will be applied to the next generation US air superiority aircraft, this would put it in a class of its own.

[@sonneh86]

And hopefully they will not let themselves get hacked or spied on again by the Chinese

[@smoshfan439]

@@sonneh86 they better use device independent quantum key distribution

[@Lenovo_Watcher]

Greetings Alex, I appreciate your YT channel and all of the Info and updates on various military technologies - just an FYI as a former employee of Leidos (Ret 2 yrs ago) - we always pronounced it as "Ly-dos". It's name is derived from ka-leidos-cope.

[@j.d.604]

Is it pronounced LIE-DOSE or LAY-DOSE???

[@wolfgangjr74]

Loved todays intro track and a great show as always.

[@lomotil3370]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 03:09 🚀 *GE Aerospace has achieved a Hypersonic dual-mode Ramjet test with rotating detonation combustion, a breakthrough in propulsion technology.* 05:41 ⚙️ *GE aims to integrate four different engine technologies (turbofans, ramjets, scramjets, rotating detonation combustion) into a single combined system for Hypersonic flight.* 07:43 🛫 *GE's dual-mode Ramjet with rotating detonation combustion may overcome the velocity gap challenge, allowing efficient operation at speeds below Mach 3 and above Mach 2.* 12:20 💡 *Rotating detonation combustion offers greater efficiency in ignition, potentially leading to smaller, more fuel-efficient engines for Hypersonic aircraft.* 23:07 📆 *GE expects to demonstrate the rotating detonation combustion dual-mode Ramjet by 2024, with potential applications in Hypersonic reconnaissance planes or precision strike platforms.* 24:34 💥 *The U.S. publicly commits to non-nuclear Hypersonic weapons, focusing on conventional systems for immediate use, raising questions about the cost-effectiveness of $100 million missiles.* 25:00 🔄 *Reusable Hypersonic aircraft capable of delivering conventional munitions, collecting intelligence, and returning for another mission could shift the cost-benefit ratio and make Hypersonic speeds part of day-to-day operations.* 25:27 🌐 *The exact timeline for the deployment of such technology is uncertain, but breakthroughs like GE's rotating detonation combustion engine suggest that the day of practical, reusable Hypersonic aircraft is inevitable and closer than anticipated.* Made with HARPA AI

[@MadMichigander1313]

One other problem is the turbines would be destroyed by the shockwave from detonation combustion. Therefore, you need to use Expansion-Cycle turbomachinery using the 'cracking' into etheline and ethane, and expansion of the fuel vapor as a working fluid driving the turbines before the gas is injected into the dual-mode rotating-detonation combustor. And this could also incorporate a rocket mode..

[@dynestis2875]

So what you're saying is we should nuke Africa?

[@imperialguardsman135]

Or just use a turbine bypass duct lol

[@MadMichigander1313]

@@imperialguardsman135, care to explain what that is? You need something to drive the fuel pump and or compressors before you get to ram/scramjet speeds.

[@MadMichigander1313]

The idea is similar to the REX-series engines created by Garrett AirResearch/Pratt&Whitney for Project Suntan (originally planned successor for U-2) hydrogen powered aircraft, and led to the development of the RL-10 Cryogenic Rocket Engine.

[@jeffkavanaugh6988]

@@imperialguardsman135: I see you're not familiar with the "Keep It Simple Stupid" principle, the engine will be running constantly in detonation mode since that is the nature of the combustor

[@nugmit1]

Interesting subject and Excellent video. I saw the SR-71 take off and land many many times. It was always very impressive. The commentary was very smart but, I've never quite heard 'ad infinitum' (22:16) pronounced that way. Peace.

[@kingdiesel68]

Wow I'm an idiot and I was able to follow along and even learn a lot! Thanks Alex and thanks to Dr Combes !

[@caracoidwren944]

Funny, I'm an idiot too and I wasn't able to follow it.

[@brianboye8025]

It is awesome that we now have great 3D illustrations and videos to help visualize these engines.

[@davidn.331]

Over my years as an inspector at P&WA. My highlights are having inspected random parts for the J58 back in the late 70's. The F119 prototype then into production and the last F119. The F135 prototype then into production. Sad part is P&W isn't working on stuff like this. They made the J58 back in the early 60's and haven't made anything that fast in 60+ years.

[@gregHames-u6n]

Sounds quite scary but, can't have another hyper sonic gap. Just squeeze it till it pops is what it sounds like. Fine job Alex. Still hoping for a balloon from the United States Air Force for you on Christmas day. Thank you for keeping us updated. G. Hames

[@bluemarlin8138]

The thing is, there’s no more of a hypersonic gap than there was a missile gap in 1960. Ruzzia and China can’t compete in technology, so they just pretend to have lots of scary weapons. Then, we develop lots of weapons that are far superior to what they falsely claimed that their fake weapons could do. They never seem to realize that all their false bravado works against them.

[@gregHames-u6n]

Thank you for liking my comments. I like your podcast more than you know! Professional and informative. Merry Christmas Alex. Santa is coming, saw the NORAD track on your channel. Keep it up. Jane's probably wants you. Greg Hames

[@HenryKlausEsq.]

This was an excellent video both in information density and respect for the viewers time. AND you're unwell. Appreciate your efforts. Merry Christmas Alex.

[@syringistic]

Alex, you are absolutely amazing. You just gave a lecture on sub and supersonic combustion engines, and it was entertaining AF!!!! I hope to meet you in person one day so we can grab a beer and talk about aerospace tech:D

[@TheDaveRout]

Thank you for all your hard work to simplify all this into something I could understand, mostly!

[@warrenwattles8397]

This cites weight as the big hurdle to overcome. But just as important is heat management. The SR-71 struggled with heat in the Mach 3 regime, and those engines were widely spaced. The heat management of a RDE is orders of magnitude harder than anything humans have dealt with before. Throw in the heat of all these various engines all in one system, and your cooling system is going to as big and heavy as the entire engine.

[@pauljs75]

The fuel routing will be part of the heat management, doesn't seem like there's much of another way.

[@johnhiggs325]

We know for a fact that pulse jet tech was being flight tested with existing air frames just a few years ago. The photo and video evidence is all over the old interweb. The F-15EX and F-16 Super Falcon have been test beds for several different combined jet propulsion systems, but also innovative flight surface controls (cavitation breaking and semi ridged defamation surfaces). Old SR-71 frames have been brought out of the mothball fleet in recent years for high altitude, high speed proof of concept demonstrations, too. I’ve even heard rumblings concerning B1b Lancer being considered for retrofit and used for its original design as a high altitude, high speed recon/strike role. I’m truly amazed that these 30 to 50 year old systems have so much left to offer. The Lancer was originally designed with little more than slide rulers!

[@bluemarlin8138]

U.S.: Develops Waverider experimental hypersonic scramjet missile. Russia: Pretends to have hypersonic missiles. U.S.: “Hey Ivan, remember when you pretended that the Mig-25 was so good, and I made the best fighter ever just in case you weren’t lying, but your plane turned out to be terrible? Well, I did it again, but with missiles.” Russia: “Fuckski.”

[@aznguy771]

The U.S. should be able to say the same above for China. China's mostly stolen reversed engineered inferior technology and tactics will be crushed by the superior tech and tactics of U.S. and its Allies!

[@Irowned]

Americans are only stealing things and then they develop it further and then claim that they invented it... They don't invent things. For example, the rocket engine was invented by a german. And the pulse jet was also invented by some european guy et cetera.

[@georgesackinger2002]

Absolutely incredible presentation. I learned a huge amount about what is being developed in aircraft engines today. I see why you are such a valued channel. thanks so much for all your work and your expertise of presenting that information.

[@adamh1228]

thats prety impressive RDEs i think can deliver like 25% increased efficiency over traditional combustion

[@you_tuber]

I really enjoyed this one Alex. Nice work. Merry Christmas to you and your family and I hope you all start feeling better real soon.

[@MikeOxlong-]

I’ve never understood the Sandbox News moniker when all the shows are given the name AirPower (unless someday in the far distant future there’s a scope to introduce other shows or media), regardless Alex makes some of the best content out there!!

[@weilam03]

the sandbox refers to the deserts weve been fighting in since 9/11. you still need airpower in the sandbox

[@stevejordan7275]

Wow, fantastic technology, concise explanations. And articulated clearly enough that I can watch them at 2x. Thank you! Really good work, both in preproduction and production. Keep it up!

[@radical137]

It seems that they might be able use these new engines in legacy platforms as well someday. I wonder how fast you can drive an F-15EX before it melts and bends? Maybe Mach 3.5?

[@radical137]

Maybe a Mach 3.2 super hornet with 50 percent more range would be huge for USN.

[@TymaDem]

Doesn’t make sense to put it into F15. I don’t think F15 airframe is designed to withstand Mach 3.5+ let alone the materials used in it. Also you have to make so many modifications to install inside the F15, that at some point it stops being an F15

[@vanguard9067]

I would not want to be the test pilot:-)

[@heathwirt8919]

The increased efficiency and range would be a welcome improvement but it's doubtful these existing airframes could handle hypersonic speeds and surface temperatures.

[@CaptRR]

@@TymaDem True, I don't think they would push too much extra speed, but what it could do is make the F15 supercruise-like capable, which also extends its range dramatically. This would have huge ramifications in theaters like the pacific.

[@adbell3364]

Wow! Learned more watching this one video, than years of knowledge assimilation through casual video watching!

[@johngee9018]

It amazes me that this kind of strategically important tech is being discussed publicly like this. Especially as US relations with strategic adversaries continue to deteriorate daily.

[@curtishakes3577]

They have something better in those skunk Works that they haven’t shown us. Like reverse, engineered, alien spacecraft.

[@mattfromwiisports4910]

Sweet jeez. Imagine flying Mach 5+ with a scramjet/detonation engine and just OBLITERATING some poor bird.

[@DominikPinkas]

I believe there are very few birds at 60 000 feet…

[@TymaDem]

I mean the fact that some birds could fly at 100k+ feet altitude is scarier that potential midair

[@wavecutter69]

I love your conclusion. So true, if you have hypersonic tech and are actually using it in nuclear missiles. Then convert it to other uses. I would love to see a small private high speed airline with small passenger loads flying from smaller airports.

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

I heard they're also working on a Twin Ion Engine Fighter and experimenting with Kyber Crystals.

[@danfreeman9079]

Air management was intensely detailed and time consuming during the maintenance of the SR-71's Turbo/Ramjets. Getting the seals set within tolerances was critical. Dozens of measurements had to be mapped out in order for the by-pass doors to match the nacelles so the system would work smoothly during transition schedules. The Digital Automatic Flight and Inlet Control System (DAFICS) made it more reliable as well as refining the maintenance procedures. The SR-71's were getting faster up to the day 972 broke 4 world records on its last flight to the Smithsonian Air & Space museum.

[@jakeroper1096]

FOURTEENTH!!4

[@secretbassrigs]

PUTIN!!!4 PRESIDENT!!!

[@secretbassrigs]

SAY YOU SUPPORT PUTIN!

[@codprawn]

Great video but would have been nice to see something included about the British Reaction Engines Sabre. The US military are investing quite a bit with them now. Their pre cooler technology has many applications.

[@delfinenteddyson9865]

I am really looking forward to see an ssto someday

[@mogilews]

The lineage between pulsejets and PDEs - as drawn in this video - is a dangerous illusion. They have different development histories, different working principles, different physics. Scramjets also don't generate usable thrust at Mach 3 - more like Mach 4 - thanks to the needs of the compression geometry. The challenge of RDE is going to be clean detonation fronts in airflow regimes that have every kind of turbulence imaginable - it's worth noting the longest RDE runs have been on LOX.

[@Black_Sun_Dark_Star]

I certainly hope one day soon, that sort of engine will be in commercial plane. Breakfast in Beijing, lunch in Sydney and dinner in Paris, sounds like a great idea.

[@magnitudematrix2653]

AI and algorithms will speed this process up. People are already 3D printing engines. In five years you will see it in experimental craft.

[@everypitchcounts4875]

Just take the stratolaunch roc Talon-A hypersonic reusable vehicle.

[@magnitudematrix2653]

@@everypitchcounts4875 Space planes here we come! Are you ready for payload orbits to Jupiter to modify exotic materials for magnetic negative technologies? Don't get to close to Jupiter it will kill a human body.

[@KevinDC5]

As a lifelong AvGeek it’s great to see Aurora finally coming to life!

[@AURORAREVEALNOW]

There are a lot of dual scramjet engine prototypes that are deep underground in every american base. The concept was studied way back in the 60's, 70's and 80's, with the concepts shown in classified black prohect hypersonic prototype/pre production lift lifting body aero/space craft.

[@ehudgavron9086]

Happy new year! Good on GE, Northrop, Leidos, and the rest of the DARPA-fund companies. I think these improvements in engine tech will be great for the future of air travel. However, for military applications (other than ISR) maybe my calculations are off.... Just doing some math here, Mach 10 at sea level with ISA conditions is around 2 miles per second. Given the "fast" reaction time of military test pilots tested at under 230ms that means a travel distance of half a mile. To put that into perspective, in a passenger vehicle traveling at 60MPH you have a full 30 seconds to get that half a mile. You can easily slow to 10MPH, make a turn, and never leave the roadway. Now imagine going 100 times that quickly, without frictive brakes, and without the ability to "see ahead" very far of where you'll be by the time you can look down at the screen and back up. (I know, HUDs are important to, as are the Joint Whatever Helmet thingies... but when you only have 230ms to react, it's all distraction.) Imagine if in the time it took you to barely react you were already beyond that area. Then there's the turn-radius factor. Finally there's limitation on radar and guidance equipment range. You'll "overdrive your headlights" on a speed of that magnitude. I can see ISR missions like the SR-71 (Mach 3+) and the upcoming ("rescoped" you said) SR-72... but I don't see active pilotage, or air to air missions. It's the OPPOSITE OF STEALTH if you can fly faster than your opponent's armament, and range of engagement is irrelevant when you can be out of there quicker than your opponent can target you. Not discussed: 1. The rotational weight of the internal engine parts (compressor vanes, stators, etc.) that must be minimized so it doesn't tear itself to bits. 2. The impact (no pun intended) of the rotational explosives and weakening materials that are not quite there as to supersonic rotation. (Remember that whole C=2xPixR thing.... the outside of the blade is spinning at incredible speeds, but the inside of the blade is not. That produces torsional stresses. 3. Aircraft skin temperature, expansion, contraction, and fatigue. The Concorde expanded during flight. So does the SR-71. None of them went to Mach 4... and now we're talking Mach 5-10. Like I said, I think this is great tech, and may be --at some point-- usable... but until we replace pilots with robots or limit the missions to surveillance... this isn't likely to be as big a breakthrough in terms of usability. Still, we're an ingenious lot, and when there are billions of dollars involved, someone will find a use for it. As always, Alex, thank you for your insight!! Sorry your voice is a little raspier... that crud is going around.

[@outsider7658]

Mr "Sandboxx", as an engineer, and VERY interested, in anything "rotating or moving", I am very impressed, as always, concerning Your news. This, is very big news, I hope, US gives it a chance. Keep those news coming, I will follow. Great work. from a Finn in Diaspora

[@MrBabylon]

How are the pilots going to cope with hypersonic manoeuvres or are they expected to drop into supersonic or subsonic speeds to execute any manoeuvre? Would be nice to see a video about how the pilots are expected to perform in these future airplanes.

[@brealistic3542]

The incredible tech it takes to get a continuous detonation engine to run, not even talking about the original idea, is out of this world. It's truly amazing.

[@Administrator_O-5]

Alex, we need to talk in the new year. I am a weapons systems expert, mission planner & evaluator, foreign military watcher & Soviet / Russia military & WW2 historian. I'm not looking for a job or anything like that, I just love this stuff & I would like to help you out even if it's just like an Op Ed. I also am realistic, so it honestly is ok if you are not interested at all. Hope your holiday is a safe, happy & overwhelming joyous for yourself & your family. 😇

[@JoesfreepizzaNov28Pizza-uh6ij]

Thanks for the ground news tip I’ll actually use this. May quite actually be the first KZbin suggestion/sponsorship that I’ve ever followed up on. Thanks for shilling the right way;) I mean that as a compliment

[@kevinavillain4616]

You guys do realize that forms of this engine has been around for about 20 years and has been seen flying in the air as secret aircraft. The rotating combustion engine is so efficient they found they have to start and stop it and not run it continuously. That's why the contrail it leaves has puffs from coasting and restart. Strangely enough I have run across quite a few of these concepts working with two stroke engines building expansion chavmbers for the exhausts.

[@allendove8244]

The oblique detonation wave engine (ODWE) is after the rotating detonation engine. Articles suggest that Mach 17 is possible.

[@MadMax75th]

Why is this information about GE's breakthrough so open to the public and not kept confidential? Seems like info that should be kept " dark"

[@paradoxx9382]

Most people couldn't start fire with 2 sticks.

[@j3i2i2yl7]

The rotating detonation was observed during ramjet development in the 50's and 60's, but always as an uncontroled event prior to the engine exploding. It is a credit to the developers that they duly recorded the performace improvement that proceeded the rapid, unplanned dissembly. Like Asmov said, the great inventions are not hearlded by someone yelling "Eureka", but by somone saying "that was odd".

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

Huh... I never would've thought you even COULD combine rotating donation, with air breathing engines! Of course, I've only seen them talked about as a rocket engine, which fuel and oxidizer are fed at their own rates, unrelated to the outside airspeed! _edit:_ 🤔 _Hmm... Using it as an _*_intermediary_*_ propulsion between turbo-fan/jet and SCRAM, might work and is quite smart!!_ 👏😮 Yay Strep Throat! 😢 But on that note... I hope you and yours have a happy and safe holidays! ♥️

[@danbenson7587]

Conflagration. Fuel is injected. It mixes with the air, and heats to combustion. This takes time. At high air velocities, this process is literally blown out the engine’s combustor. Visually, one would see a gap between the injector (where mixing and heating is ongoing), and the flame front. As the velocity through the engine increases, the gap increases until the flame front is pushed out. Aka a flameout. Jet and ramjet engines run lean and lean mixture flame fronts move slowly. Detonation. The fuel and air are mixed stochiometrically and ignited. In these conditions the flame front travels at sonic speeds. Combined cycle. A combined cycle is the exhaust of one engine feeding the inlet of another. The most prolific example is a gas turbine’s (Brayton cycle) exhaust feeding a steam turbine’s (Rankin cycle) boiler. This vids fan jet/scramjet is more accurately a dual cycle engine. The SR71 engine had similar problems, and, if I remember, went through four air path configurations through its speed range. The Pratt&Whitney engine is quite the engineering feat for the ‘60s. It’s a conflagration engine. Cheers

[@georgesikimeti2184]

..good detailed analysis,one viewer suggested to add another configuration especially in the stratosphere phase where air is very thin,that is liquid oxygen,any viability there?

[@danbenson7587]

@@georgesikimeti2184 Beyond my pay grade. But can say at hypersonic velocities even in the stratosphere, air is pretty “solid”. Another missing item is what fuel and oxidizers are used for experimental rotary detonation engines. Anything (including steel) burns with pure oxygen. Air is about 1/5 oxygen. Fuel ignition points and properties are all over the map. Cheers

[@martinharris5017]

It's really interesting to me to see all this detail, as a friend and I were discussing all this back in the 90s when Area 51 was first being publicly discussed and what they were developing out there. It was all theory and written text at the time but we understood the idea of a hybrid engine that reconfigured or "morphed" from a conventional turbofan to a scramjet and ultimately to ramjet, allowing for a craft like the mythical "Aurora" that all the UFO buffs talked about. Thanks for the vid.

[@pauljs75]

I always pictured a way to combine a turbine with a ramjet in a smaller volume of space by making the entire center shaft for the turbine hollow (since the turbine blades will function better in a wider swept arc), and then putting the ram jet part in the hollowed out core. Telescoping sliding tubes could cut off flow to the turbine parts when the thing is in the operating range of the ram jet function. So turbine mode makes use of the outer radius of the engine, while the ramjet routes through the central core. The ram jet would also have some kind of movable aerospike that can seat up to the inlet as valve in a similar manner to the flow routing sliding tubes for the outer section, so there's no back-flow that could cause behavior similar to a compressor stall. Of course the challenge is the dynamic balancing and larger bearing surfaces for the turbine, as the rotating shaft would be a hollow tube of a much larger radius than your typical turbine shaft. As both engines are routed parallel in some fashion rather than in-line, it also mean both parts may function at the same time during transition phase, the slip rings and aerospike doing their things - although the mode transition would need to be fairly brief due to obvious heat management issues. And then combine something like that with the tech in this video. Now that would be something.

[@pauljs75]

Thinking about it a bit more, the hollow core turbine section isn't one entire tubular shaft but separate sections for compressor and expansion with at least a pair of transfer shafts routing between them. Reduction of rotating mass issues, and makes dealing with the burner section around that easier too.

[@stevec5280]

I'd like to see a follow-up to this video with a video on the materials science of aircraft. An engine/engines that can push aircraft to Mach 10 is all nice and good but as I recall the X15 could only do approximately Mach 5 without an ablative coating.

[@FoolsGaming]

Lockheed hypersonic engineer here - you are correct. Vehicle speeds approaching and beyond Mach 5 primarily leverage ablatives for thermal management (generally carbon phenolics or carbon-carbon composites). Primary windward areas/ leading edges could be replaced for reusability but currently would be very expensive to maintain - to your point. There are some promising solutions being developed currently but scaling/ cost efficiency will be a repeat issue. If you’re interested, the KZbin channel “Event Horizon” recently hosted us to talk about the challenges of hypersonic flight, including material limitations - episode is called “going hypersonic” if you’re interested.

[@u9Nails]

Happy that I'm not an aerospace engineer, and I get to enjoy the results of their labor without the long nights awake reaching that end result.

[@jordanhicken7812]

Could you imagine showing this technology to someone from 200 years ago. Truly incredible!

[@markalbert9390]

Or 200 years from now.

[@craigsowers8456]

Excellent news ... while I'm a retired LM employee, good on GE for this new "Flex Fuel" option !!! Hope it works. Sadly, what's NOT mentioned is the platform will require lots of "Titanium" (see SR-71) and guess who controls 75% of the World's reserves ??? Yep, Mr. Putin. Can't wait to see what kind of "coatings" will be needed as well ... turn around times will enter the equation given most burn off after a single sortie ...

[@georgesikimeti2184]

…Australia has the biggest deposits of ilmenite and rutile in the world,the base materials for titanium,so relying on Putin isn’t a problem,the allies can help there.

[@craigsowers8456]

You need to read the FAR and section on "Specialty Metals" ... we're not allowed to use Putin's Titanium. Now yes, that can change if the FAR is changed ... but that doesn't mean Putin will sell to us (to be used against him). @@georgesikimeti2184

[@craigsowers8456]

Also ... given Putin has backed out of SALT and all other agreements on that subject, it is doubtful he'd agree to AS9100 Certification and Audits ... a prerequisite for being a supplier for raw material ... he doesn't seem willing to undergo "oversight".@@georgesikimeti2184

[@jessemills3845]

I don't see why this wasn't done DECADES AGO! When i was a kid, (early-mid 1960s) i ran 2 engines on my go-cart. On the drag strip! An doing 100+, on the 1/8 mile. Thinking some of these "HIGHLY EDUCATED" people need to talk with some that turn wrenches!

[@Cyrribrae]

I was struggling to find something to listen to while in the store. 3 minutes ago. Perfect timing!! Edit: damn alright. This has come sooner than I expected. Excited to see how this shows up

[@j.f.fisher5318]

same, I thought they'd be _next_ next gen systems, not for the coming gen.

[@julianwinn4502]

Wow...clever stuff. I built a pulsejet with my 14yr old son last summer. We had a lot of fun and thankfully didn't burn down the garage!

[@MW_Builds]

This is critical to be ironed out before our NGAD final design.

[@TyinAlaska]

This has been a hobby study of mine for quite a few years. This is a nice video. Thanks.

[@michaelgideon8944]

About 15 years ago Techland Research built a rotating pulse detonation engine that was successful in testing. It was mechanically rotating instead of creating a rotating wave. They were in talks to sell the technology but it fell through. I have worked on some of these projects over the years and they have been moving away from bypass configurations to single duct style.

[@RedSinter]

I can imagine and I would think this TBCC engine given is weight, speed, and fuel saving going right into Drone Systems from ISR to Combat units. As we've seen demonstrated in the Ukraine conflict. Add these to a flight of Combined cycle afterburner warfighting aircraft would be a significant deterrent and a force multiplier in the extreme.

[@turkeybird7679]

EXCELLENT FREAKING PRESENTATION....I sat there spell bound. Well done young man!

[@theeddorian]

Really interesting. The question it raises though is just what used to fly along the coast and then inland that saw the DoD upgrade seismometers in Southern California so that they weren't disturbed by sonic booms. The estimated speeds for that craft were very high Mach numbers.

[@jtully79]

You covered a rather complex, little known about subject extremely well. Great vid

[@Reepicheep-1]

Aviation tech is insane. Thinking ahead 100 years, we will either be flying unrecognizable aircraft, or pioneering back to Sopwith Camel-level of planes.

[@SnkobArts]

We've even had a nuclear detonation pulse propulsion spacecraft design back in the 60s called Orion. It was our best theoretical option for interplanetary travel for back then.

[@toomanyhobbies400]

I believe I saw one of these engines in flight. Near Vancouver, BC on December 1st, late in the afternoon. A plane left a single contrail stream, but as it began to spread out in the sky there were two distinct streams. One was a solid, straight trail, but the other was in block puffs. Review the exhaust at 17:49 in this video. What I witnessed is a chain of square puffs that this engine might have made. Perhaps it was an F-15 with one adaptive cycle engine being test flown. In a few years I'll know for sure.

[@w8stral]

PRESSURE waves = different condensation trails. Wild weather on PNW coastal areas.

[@HarmonMartin]

I've seen, donuts on a rope contrail, over the high desert 2 times. Must be some kind of pulsed jet engine.

[@triggerpointtechnology]

Dude, you have never seen a rotating detonation engine. They currently only exist in ultra high security environments. But keep on smoking that sh1t!

[@triggerpointtechnology]

@@HarmonMartin Contrails will form knots as the vortices tend to break apart and the ends join up. This phenomenon has been happening for 75 years. Get a grip.

[@scottsmith4315]

Great report Alex. As always. Thank you

[@nil981]

There's an alternative detonation wave engine that's been mentioned is the oblique wave detonation engine that instead of using multiple detonation waves travelling around in a circle to generate thrust, it uses a single standing detonation wave that consistently generated thrust that can push an aircraft up to mach 17 theoretically at least.

[@briangman3]

Great video!

[@ky-effect2717]

Wow I've herd of rotating detonation but I'm surprised GE had a development program working on it. I'm glad to see the US not shying away from funding new developments.

[@michaelharrington223]

Alex thanks for the update on the new GE engine. Get to feeling better 💪

[@a.teague4837]

Thank you sir! Wonderful report. You must work on these videos day & night with the data collection, the script writing, filming, editing & production. I'm glad you do it though!

[@RUDHUNTER]

😯!!"Rotating detonation"?!?!What the?!...Ha,this also reminds me something in my past,too.🤔,But yeah;we'll see.