GE Aerospace demonstrates air-breathing supersonic ramjet engine tech

GE Aerospace has successfully completed three supersonic captive carry flight tests of its Atmospheric Test of Launched Airbreathing System (ATLAS) Flight Test Vehicle at Kennedy Space Center, marking a significant advancement in solid fuel ramjet (SFRJ) propulsion technology. Carried on a Starfighter F-104 aircraft, the ATLAS system reached supersonic speeds, validating the in-flight performance of solid fuel ramjets. Funded by the Pentagon under the Defense Production Act, this project aims to scale up air-breathing propulsion to extend the range and responsiveness of future munitions, with data from these tests informing next-generation high-speed systems. In addition to ATLAS, GE Aerospace demonstrated progress in rotating detonation combustion (RDC) technology at its Aerospace Research Center in Niskayuna, successfully testing missile-scale and dual-mode ramjet engines that showed a threefold increase in engine airflow compared to earlier demonstrators. RDC technology improves thrust and efficiency by using detonation waves for combustion