The US Air Force’s hypersonic Santa sleigh redesign is nothing short of incredible

Remember when the US Air Force showed off an amazing hypersonic Santa sleigh design, nicknamed the ‘Hypersleigh’?

The Santa sleigh was a holiday-themed concept designed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

While it might not be streaking across the skies this December delivering gifts, the AFRL’s tongue-in-cheek creation shows what happens when cutting-edge aerospace minds get into the Christmas spirit.

And honestly, Santa’s old reindeer might be out of a job if this thing were real.

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The hypersonic Santa sleigh is as red as Rudolph’s nose

The digital render shows a sleigh that looks more like a cross between a B-21 Raider stealth bomber and a hypersonic test vehicle than anything you’d find parked on a snowy rooftop.

It’s sleek, angular, and clearly optimized for speed, with glowing afterburners where you’d normally expect jingle bells.

The ‘Hypersleigh’, revealed in 2019, sports a cockpit canopy for Santa (and possibly a co-pilot elf), an aerodynamic fuselage, and even a stealthy matte-red finish that’s about as red as Rudolph’s nose.

After a month of research and deliberation, ROSA is excited to showcase Santa's new means of travel.

We're proud to showcase, the #Hypersleigh!#aFResearchLabElf #ElfontheShelf #HappyHolidays pic.twitter.com/pYCtcbyfHr

— Air Force Research Lab – AFRL (@AFResearchLab) December 22, 2019

Santa needs to travel at Mach 3,000 to make his deliveries

But here’s the real question: if Santa needed to deliver presents to two billion homes in a single night, is the hypersonic Santa sleigh up to the task?

Well, to put things into perspective, the fastest aircraft the US Air Force has ever tested is the X-15 rocket plane, which hit speeds of over Mach 6.7 in the 1960s.

And the B-21 Raider, which the Hypersleigh bears a resemblance to, is designed for stealth and long-range missions.

While combining these two aircraft together sounds like an awesome idea, it still falls short of the speed necessary for Santa’s overnight mission around the world.

Linda Harden, an astronomer and astrophysicist once calculated the speed necessary for Santa’s sled: Mach 3,000.

For reference, that’s about 500 times the speed of our hypothetical hybrid aircraft, and 1,500 times the speed of a Concorde.

So there you have it.

While the Hypersleigh isn’t actually real, it’s certainly a novel idea.

And if it actually replaces Santa’s trusty reindeers, you’re going to have an aircraft that would make the F-35 look like a paper airplane.

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