US aircraft developer, Exosonic has started testing a subscale model of their conceptual unmanned supersonic jet.
The company aims to develop for military customers, and they have just completed their first flight-test campaign.
With technology moving more towards automation, it seems we may see many more unmanned fighter jets in the future.
The US Air Force is believed to be developing their next-generation of fighter aircraft and one of them might be an unmanned drone.
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The aircraft developer Exosonic has shifted its focus toward military projects, and their current development is a far cry from the civilian supersonic jet that it had pitched several years ago.
Their first supersonic jet flight test included a subscale model that looks like an RC plane.
By the way, if you happen to have about $30,000 lying around, you could buy your very own remote-controlled replica fighter jet.
So long as you’ve got the guts to fly it without crashing, that is.
Back to Exosonic, though.
They have recently completed the first successful flight of the EX-3M Trident high-speed unmanned test aircraft, as the experimental design took to the skies in March.
The test flight took place out on a dry lake bed in Southern California.
According to Exosonic, ‘the autonomous supersonic jet model reached a top speed of over 240km/h (150 mph) at an altitude of roughly 600ft.’
Not quite supersonic, but they’re taking baby steps in the right direction.
If the unmanned supersonic jet is ever produced, it might cost up to millions of dollars just for a single aircraft.
The most advanced aircraft in the US arsenal — the F-35 — is quite expensive, to say the least.
The aircraft developer says this model could also be used as a platform by governments and other commercial players.
Exosonic’s initial plans were to develop a 70-passenger, Mach 1.8 civilian supersonic jet with a range of 5753 miles (9,260 km).
However, it shifted to a military aircraft after landing a 2021 US Air Force (USAF) deal to develop a supersonic unmanned jet.
Other aircraft manufacturers, like NASA and Airbus, are developing their own supersonic planes, meaning that a return to the supersonic realm isn’t impossible for passengers in the not-too-distant future.
So, it might not be long before civilians can experience supersonic flights again, two decades after Concorde’s retirement.
