China has tested a ramjet engine with detonation for aircraft twice as fast as the Tu-144 and Concorde.

The Chinese company Space Transportation has published a video of the first flight test of a ramjet engine with detonation. It is designed for aircraft that will fly at a speed of about Mach 4, which is twice as fast as the supersonic Tu-144 and Concorde. The engine was tested as part of the rocket. The first flight tests of the aircraft are planned for 2027.

Engine JinDou400. Image source: Space Transportation

The JinDou400 (Jindouyun) engine, 3 m long and 30 cm in diameter, provided a thrust of 400 kg and accelerated to a speed of 5000 km/h at an altitude of more than 20 km. Testing of the prototype engine took place at the end of October. The final engine design was flight tested on December 9.

During engine operation, a series of explosions occur in the combustion chamber, which create a shock wave front. This provides increased traction while maintaining fuel consumption. Air for fuel compression and subsequent detonation is supplied directly to the engine as it moves, eliminating the need for compressors and turbine components. This simplifies the design, improves the thrust-to-weight ratio and reduces costs.

Render of the future aircraft

Space Transportation promises to open the first full-fledged passenger route on a hypersonic aircraft with the presented engines in 2030. The route will be direct: the plane, for example, will be able to cover the distance between Beijing and New York in 2 hours. Now it takes 15.5 hours for a non-stop flight.

Tests confirmed the reliability and controllability of the ramjet detonation engine. The engine is modular and partially manufactured using 3D printing. The simple design, few components and absence of mechanical components make the product highly reliable and relatively inexpensive. In addition to flights between different points of the world, the future hypersonic aircraft will be able to deliver tourists into space to suborbital altitudes at a price that is an order of magnitude lower than the current one.