US military's hypersonic aircraft suffers second failure in three flights

The US Air Force has lost an unmanned hypersonic aircraft, after a faulty control fin caused it to break apart and fall into the Pacific Ocean.

The eight-metre-long experimental vehicle -- dubbed Waverider, or X-51A -- is designed to fly at two kilometres a second, which is roughly six times the speed of sound. Analysts say the military wants the vehicle to deliver explosives to anywhere in the world within an hour.

By: Mark Brown, Edited by: Duncan Geere

Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-08/16/hypersonic-failure