GE Aerospace completes first solid-fuel ramjet flights for hypersonic program

GE Aerospace reached an important milestone in its hypersonic propulsion development program by testing a solid-fuel ramjet at supersonic speeds over Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.The test flights form part of GE’s Atmospheric Test of Launched Airbreathing System (ATLAS) program. The effort gives engineers direct data on how solid-fuel ramjets behave in flight. By mounting the hardware on an aircraft, GE can measure aerodynamic loads, vibration, and heating effects that wind tunnels cannot replicate. The results will help determine whether ramjets can serve as a practical propulsion choice for future hypersonic weapons.

GE mounted the ATLAS test vehicle to an F-104 Starfighter, a supersonic jet used for research missions. The aircraft completed three flights, each reaching supersonic speeds, while carrying the ramjet system. GE said the tests gave engineers critical data on how the hardware behaved under realistic aerodynamic loads, temperatures, and vibration.

“This marks a pivotal moment for GE Aerospace as we showcase our solid-fuel ramjet technology in flight for the first time,” said Mark Rettig, Vice President and General Manager of Edison Works Business & Technology Development at GE Aerospace. “Testing reusable flight hardware in realistic atmospheric conditions allows us to better understand system behavior and move more quickly through development.”

The Pentagon funded ATLAS through Title III of the Defense Production Act, a mechanism that strengthens the US industrial base in areas considered essential to national security. By directing resources to GE, Washington is signaling its desire to accelerate the development of air-breathing propulsion technologies that can extend the range and speed of next-generation weapons.

GE has expanded its hypersonics portfolio steadily over the past three years. In 2022 the company acquired Innoveering, a propulsion specialist with expertise in advanced air-breathing systems. Earlier in 2025, GE announced major infrastructure upgrades at facilities in Evendale, Ohio; Bohemia, New York; and Niskayuna, New York, to accelerate hypersonic research and testing.

Choosing the F-104 for the flights gave GE both capability and efficiency. The aircraft, a derivative of the Lockheed F-104 interceptor, can reach speeds needed for ramjet evaluation. Starfighters Aerospace, a private company, operates a small fleet of the jets from Kennedy Space Center, offering them as platforms for commercial, government, and military test programs. NASA once used the F-104 for research, but the jets in these tests belong to Starfighters Aerospace.

Solid-fuel ramjets differ from other technologies, such as scramjets, which burn fuel in supersonic airflow. Ramjets compress incoming air through the forward motion of the vehicle and use a solid-fuel grain as propellant. Engineers consider ramjets well suited for tactical weapons because the systems can provide long range and high speed while remaining relatively simple and potentially more affordable than scramjet alternatives. GE’s ATLAS program aims to show that ramjets can quickly move beyond laboratory experiments into US weapons.

The tests highlight how the United States continues to push forward in a fast-moving global race to develop hypersonic technology. Both China and Russia have prioritized hypersonic weapons and have already introduced operational systems. US programs, meanwhile, have faced delays in transitioning from research to deployment, a challenge that has drawn attention from military planners.

China has tested multiple hypersonic glide vehicles, including its DF-ZF, which analysts say can maneuver at speeds above Mach 5. In 2021, China launched a vehicle that reportedly circled the globe before re-entering the atmosphere, a demonstration that highlighted the country’s rapid advances. More recently, China has pursued air-launched hypersonic missiles that pose a threat to U.S. naval forces in the Pacific.

Russia has fielded the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle and the Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile. Moscow has also worked on the Zircon sea-launched hypersonic cruise missile, which has undergone several flight tests. Western analysts caution that Russian claims about performance are often overstated, but the systems exist and have already influenced NATO strategy.

GE’s supersonic tests of the ATLAS ramjet do not match the scale of Chinese or Russian deployments, but they show that American industry is making progress. By proving that a solid-fuel ramjet can operate in real supersonic flight conditions, GE added a milestone to the broader U.S. effort to develop propulsion systems for future hypersonic weapons.The post GE Aerospace completes first solid-fuel ramjet flights for hypersonic program appeared first on AeroTime.

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