Does Russia Have Any Hypersonic Jet Projects right now?

Question

Does Russia Have Any Hypersonic Jet Projects right now?

Answer 1

I'd say that they certainly have something. Whether it is a flying aircraft or just a design expirement is impossible to determine without some really deep inside information. Two projects are spoken of. Unfortunately, only one has been talked about at all publicly. The other is a bit mythical and secret and is more of a contemporary to the American "Aurora". The first project was the Tu-2000. Sources disagree, but it seems that this was actually a projected single stage to orbit space vehicle, though wikipedia and at least a couple of documents I've seen refer to it as a hypersonic bomber project. The reason I include it here is that any hypersonic aircraft is really starting to cross the line between aircraft and spacecraft. The Sr-71 flew at mach three and 80,000ft. Any mach 5+ aircraft would likely "fly" at around 100000 to 120000 feet. This is the absolute edge of space. In fact, a waveriding model would in a sense skip across the atmosphere like a stone on a pond. While the Tu-2000 has been documented some, the big secret is "AJAX". This is a Russian counterpart to "Aurora". It is supposedly a mach 5 to mach 8 vehicle utilizing some really exotic scramjet designs. With so many rumors and supposed leaks going around, it's safe to say something is going on with hypersonic aircraft in Russia. The only problem is how difficult it is to make any real conclusions about what exactly it is. I hope this info helps:

About the Tu-2000:

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/tu2000.ht...

This page contains several PDF documents referring to AJAX and other supposed projects like Aurora:

http://www.americanantigravity.com/artic...

Here's a diagram outlining Soviet and former Soviet rocket plane and spaceplane projects:

http://www.astronautix.com/craftfam/rusl...

Answer 2

The Russian R&D on the above has been extensive since the early 70s. Obviously, such projects are kept under tight wraps. They had the engines for aircraft with Mach 5+ capabilities but not the air frames. With advances in the composite technology, the airframes came into being and the program shifted into top gear. The Mach numbers were raised with the successful testing of the scram jets and applications became even more diverse.The proposed craft were designed to operate in the outer fringes of the atmosphere with both space and military capabilities. Then followed the times of turmoil and the advent of the break-up of USSR, when plans went into cold storage.

Lately they have re-grouped and put the whole program together in one place. There are conflicting reports emanating from controlled leaks which point to advances in their Hypersonic capability. The indications, nonetheless, are strongly pointing to a very highly advanced version of a vehicle which could be, perhaps, way ahead of what the West has in mind. How much has been leaked and how much the world has yet to know remains to be seen. But we must always remember that the Russians have always sprung surprises, especially at times when the world did not expect any.