CHINA has unveiled its latest supersonic drone which it says could fly passengers at twice the speed of Concorde.
The superfast aircraft, dubbed “Monkey King”, aims to reach a top speed of Mach 4 – twice the speed of sound – while flying at an altitude of 12.4 miles above ground level.
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It is the latest innovation from China showcasing its growing might in the aerospace industry.
The drone, being designed by a Chinese startup called Lingkong Tianxing Technology, also hopes to fly an unspecified number of passengers on commercial routes.
Weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, the seven-metre-long UAV will be powered by two detonation engines – a type of propulsion system that generates thrust by rapidly burning fuel through a self-sustaining detonation wave.
The drone is being developed as part of a larger initiative to make high-speed passenger jets – capable of smashing the sound barrier – a reality.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the test flight for the aircraft is scheduled for next year.
Chief engineer Deng Fan said another high-speed aircraft capable of carrying hundreds of passengers is expected to take to the skies by 2030.
The craft we’ll be based on the success of the Monkey King drone.
Supersonic technology, traditionally a military asset, is now being adapted for commercial use.
Last year, China unveiled its latest advanced supersonic fighter jet capable of dropping devastating weapons from space.
The mysterious aircraft, dubbed “White Emperor”, is the country’s sixth-gen fighter jet that highlights China’s advancements in aerospace technology.
The “integrated space-air fighter” aims to perform in both atmospheric and near-space altitudes between up to 25,000 meters.
Dubbed the “Baidi” or “White Emperor,” this cutting-edge aircraft model is showcased as part of China’s ambitious Project Nantianmen, a research initiative to explore future aerospace technologies.
A life-size prototype of the jet highlights the advancements in weaponry and avionics, potentially setting the stage for future Chinese military aircraft developments.
The advanced aircraft is supposed to be a response to The US Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program that is set to secure superiority in air and space advanced manned and unmanned aircraft.
Meanwhile, China introduced an enormous cargo drone dubbed the “pickup truck of the sky” that can carry a tonne of weight.
Footage showed the hulking yellow aircraft called CH-YH1000 trundle down a runway completely automatically – without anyone controlling it.
It is shaped much like a passenger plane, with two large horizontal wings and a tail fin.
It has two miniature propellers whirring at the front and runs on a set of three wheels in a triangular formation.
The wheels don’t leave the tarmac at any point, but this early-stage test was just to ensure the drone is able to taxi properly – not fly.
Why did Concorde fail?
CONCORDE was the supersonic passenger jet considered the ultimate luxury in air travel.
Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde planes on April 10, 2003.
The plane had its first commercial flight on January 21, 1976, so was retired after 27 years of service and 50,000 flights.
Several reasons led to the decision to retire Concorde.
Air France and British Airways cited low passenger numbers and high maintenance costs.
By the early noughties, the planes were outdated and expensive to run, despite being incredibly advanced when they were first introduced almost three decades previously.
The 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 majorly impacted passenger numbers, as people opted not to fly.
Passenger numbers also fell after an Air France Concorde crashed just minutes after taking off from Paris in July 2000.
The disaster killed all 109 people on board and four others on the ground.
The plane ran over a small piece of metal on the runway, which burst a tyre and caused an engine to ignite.
It was also the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer.
