Talon-0 Hypersonic Plane for Mach 6 Flights: Stratolaunch's Massive Roc carrier plane completes hypersonic vehicle separation test

Related: Stratolaunch test photos: The world's largest plane in action

StratoLaunch's huge Roc plane drops hypersonic test vehicle for 1st time (video)

By Mike Wall

 published about 2 hours ago

Roc, the biggest airplane in the world, aced its first drop test over the weekend

Roc lifted off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California on Saturday a little after 9 a.m. local time, Stratolaunch representatives said, kicking off the plane's 11th test flight.

Roc, which has a wingspan longer than a football field, carried the company's Talon-0 separation test vehicle between its twin fuselages. The giant plane headed west, eventually dropping Talon-0 when it was off California's central coast.

Talon-0 isn't equipped with an engine, so it didn't make a powered flight on Saturday. But the vehicle did perform a variety of gliding maneuvers and continued sending telemetry back to the mission team until it hit the water, in a destructive impact that was all part of Saturday's flight plan.

"We got to watch it set up for a mock landing and eventually touch down on the water," Scott Schultz, Stratolaunch's senior director of engineering, said on today's call, referring to Talon-0.

"So, all primary objectives, secondary objectives, tertiary objectives — everything was accomplished," he said. "It was really, really a fantastic day."

Roc, meanwhile, returned for a touchdown at Mojave four hours and eight minutes after liftoff, bringing an end to Saturday's test flight.

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— Stratolaunch starts building Talon hypersonic plane for Mach 6 flights

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen established Stratolaunch in 2011, with the initial goal of air-launching rockets carried high into the atmosphere, and then released, by Roc. Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic also employ an air-launch strategy, for satellite and space-tourism missions, respectively (though Virgin Orbit's future is murky; it recently declared bankruptcy).

The vision changed in 2019, a year after Allen's death: Stratolaunch turned Roc into a platform for hypersonic research and development, which it will conduct with the giant plane and the Talon series of robotic hypersonic vehicles. ("Hypersonic" refers to speeds of at least Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.)

Thanks to Saturday's success, the company's first hypersonic flight may now be just a few months away. 

Iron Dome Deployment NOT for The Ukraine | The Jerusalem Post

 

US Offers Iron Dome Defense System to Ukraine Amidst Rising Tensions with Russia

BY SHIVANI CHAUHAN ABOUT 7 HOURS AGO

US Army indicates availability of iron dome for Ukraine as tensions rise with Russia
Image Credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY

The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia has prompted the United States to offer Ukraine access to its Iron Dome defense system. Lt.-Gen. Daniel Karbler, Commanding General of the US Army Space and Missile Defense, revealed this information during a Senate hearing.

However, the deployment of the Iron Dome in Ukraine would require permission from Israel, the primary producer of the system.

The Iron Dome air and missile defense system, developed by Israeli defense company Rafael, has been a critical asset for Israel since its deployment in 2011. The United States has made significant financial contributions, totaling $2.6 billion, to the Iron Dome project, supporting the production of additional systems and interception missiles.

While the US has two Iron Dome systems, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb stated that they are currently not being offered to Ukraine. Instead, the US is assisting Ukraine with resources from its own stock, such as Patriot missile batteries."

VIDEO

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Iron Dome ready for deployment in Ukraine, says US general

Untold News

158K subscribers

Iron Dome Has Yet To Deploy To Ukraine That Was Part Of ...

Zenger News

https://www.zenger.news › 2023/05/15 › iron-dome-h...

4 hours ago — Ukraine has yet to use Iron Dome defense systems, included in the Ukraine aid from the U.S., against Russian attacks as the invasion continues.

Iron Dome Has Yet To Deploy To Ukraine That Was Part Of ...

The Florida Star

https://www.thefloridastar.com › articles › iron-dome-...

4 hours ago — There is an Iron Dome ready for deployment should Ukraine request it, an American general told U.S. senators last week. Israel's Iron Dome ...

US General: Iron Dome ready for deployment in Ukraine

Reddit

https://www.reddit.com › UkrainianConflict › comments

9 hours ago — As the main producer of the Iron Dome systems, Israel would have to grant permission for the US to send it to any other country.

US Has Iron Dome System Ready to Ship Out to Ukraine

Sputnik News

https://sputnikglobe.com › News

3 hours ago — The US acquired two Iron Dome batteries from Israel in late 2020, sending one to Guam in 2021 to get a sense of how the system might perform ...

US general: Iron Dome ready to deploy if Ukraine asks

The army has one battery available, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense commander said.

An Iron Dome battery in Ashkelon fires interceptor missiles at rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, Aug. 7, 2022. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Iron Dome ready for deployment in Ukraine, says US general

Ukraine slams Israeli Foreign Ministry for sending high-level reps to Moscow: “Neutrality is not an option.”

By LAHAV HARKOV

 

Published: MAY 15, 2023 15:42

Updated: MAY 15, 2023 20:58 

The Iron Dome air defense missile systems is seen during operational trials conducted following the conclusion Operation Shield and Arrow on May 14, 2023

(photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)

The US has an Iron Dome system ready, US Army Space and Missile Defense Commanding General Lt.-Gen. Daniel Karbler told the Senate last week when asked whether Ukraine could use one.

Ukraine on Monday criticized Israel for sending high-ranking Foreign Ministry diplomats to Moscow. Jerusalem is “having business as usual with the Russian war criminals,” a Ukrainian senior diplomatic official said.

Last week, in a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces session about missile-defense issues, Sen. Angus King (Independent-Maine) asked why Iron Dome had not been deployed in Ukraine. . .

In response to King’s query, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb said the US was aiding Ukraine in its war effort with “things we can supply from our own stock,” such as Patriot missile batteries.

“We made a significant investment in missile defense and encourage our allies to do the same,” he said. “I am not aware of an Iron Dome system being offered to Ukraine.”

Karbler said the US has “two Iron Dome batteries right now. One completed new equipment training, new equipment fielding. It is prepared for deployment. The other one is wrapping up its new equipment training right now. So the army does have one [Iron Dome battery] available for deployment if we get a request from it” from Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command clarified that Karber was referring to the availability of the Iron Dome system for US military combatant commands, if requested, and not to Ukraine. 

As the main producer of Iron Dome systems, Israel would have to grant permission for the US to send it to any other country.

Asked whether Karbler’s remarks indicated that Israel has allowed the Iron Dome to be sent to Ukraine, the Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment.

Israel has not provided Ukraine with defensive weapons, despite requests from Kyiv. Jerusalem has generally said it opposes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it does not want to threaten its deconfliction mechanism with Moscow, which allows the IAF to strike Iranian targets near the northern border unimpeded by the Russian military, which maintains a presence in Syria. Israel has sent humanitarian aid and contributed and allowed the export of missile- and drone-attack warning systems to Ukraine.

Iron Dome has been the subject of mixed messages from Ukraine. Last year, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said: “We need Iron Dome... which will allow us to save our civilian women and children from the shelling of the Russian missiles in our territory.”

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said: “Iron Dome does not protect against cruise and ballistic missiles.”Iron Dome defends mostly against short-range rockets and artillery shells. There are about 12 batteries in the world, including an estimated 10 in Israel – the Defense Ministry does not divulge the exact number – and two in the US.

The 10 in Israel do not actually cover the entire country and are sometimes moved to different locations that might be attacked. Ukraine is 11 times larger than Israel, meaning that one Iron Dome battery would protect very little of it.

A Ukrainian senior diplomatic official on Monday sharply criticized Israel for a meeting on May 5 in Moscow attended by Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General for Strategic Affairs Joshua Zarka, Deputy Director-General for Euro-Asia Simona Halperin and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

The sides primarily discussed the Iranian nuclear threat and diplomacy related to the currently defunct Iran nuclear deal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Jerusalem confirmed that the meeting took place but would not provide further details.The Ukrainian senior diplomatic official said Kyiv was “deeply disappointed by the exchange of visits by the Israeli and Russian [Foreign Ministry] officials while Russia is butchering our citizens.”

“We are being attacked by terrorists that are steadily supported by the Russia-Iran alliance, and yet, Israeli officials keep having business as usual with the Russian war criminals,” the official said. “Israel has to decide if it is a part of the Western world and stands besides Ukraine or whether it embraces the world’s dark forces. Neutrality is not an option.”

“As a nation that is also attacked by terror funded by Iran, we expect Israel not to be the only Western country with strong ties with Russia,” the Ukrainian senior diplomatic official said.

The Foreign Ministry declined to respond to the Ukrainian remarks."

Tags United States ukraine Iron Dome Russia Israel Ukraine-Russia War