FUTURE WEAPONS PROPOSALS
AIR FORCE 2025 STUDY
1.1 Hypersonic Attack Aircraft A high-speed strike vehicle capable of projecting lethal force anywhere in the world in less than four hours. Operating at Mach 12 and a cruise altitude of 100,000 ft, this vehicle is a reusable two-stage system comprised of an unmanned boost vehicle and a manned hypersonic strike aircraft. The gas turbine-engined boost vehicle requires a conventional runway and accelerates the strike vehicle to Mach 3.5 and 65,000 ft. The strike vehicle then separates and uses a ramjet/scramjet engine to reach its cruise condition. The total system range is 10,000 nautical miles (NM); the hypersonic strike vehicle has an unrefueled range of 5,000 NM. It is capable of launching precision-guided munitions, including the hypersonic air-to-ground missile described in system 5.4, at a standoff distance of 1,450 NM. Alternatively, the platform may be used to transport an uninhabited unmanned air vehicle described in system 4.2.
1.2 FotoFighter A highly maneuverable, stealthy, inhabited advanced fighter aircraft whose skin is fitted with an array of diode lasers and sensors. Efficient electronic control of the laser arrays allows this fighter to engage multiple targets simultaneously with varying degrees of lethality. At low powers, the arrays can function as transmitters and receivers for low probability of interception (LPI) communications. Threat detection, target illumination, and tracking are also possible.
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Some interesting stuff...seems a bit far out to me, anyone else got an opinion on this ??
