Boeing unveils 'Revolver' hypersonic missile launcher

Who says you need a bomber or stealth fighter to air launch a hypersonic missile? Boeing just unveiled a new concept it's developing called the Revolver Launch System. It's made-up of two drums loaded with six hypersonic missiles each. The launchers release one missile at a time out of the back of the plane's cargo hold and as the name implies, the drums revolve to launch the remaining weapons. The revolver launcher is designed to go inside AC17 Globe Master Three also built by Boeing. Nicknamed Buddha, the Globe Master is one of the biggest birds in the sky. The high capacity military transport can carry more than £170,000. That makes it more than useful in a number of different missions, from troop deployment to material and vehicle transport and medical evacs. Boeing is designing the revolver launcher to carry the X51, a Wave Rider hypersonic cruise missile. The Wave Rider is a joint project between Boeing, the Air Force research lab, DARPA, NASA, and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne. It's a test platform that's been in use for years, helping industry and the military learn what works and what doesn't when it comes to hypersonic weapons. Russia and China both have hypersonic weapons so the US is playing a bit of catch up with the tech, but the gap is closing. Ukraine was able to down Russian hypersonic missiles with US supplied air defense systems. China's hypersonic weapons have never been tested in combat. The Wave Rider was successfully launched from AB 52 bomber previously. It uses a scramjet engine to compress oxygen in the atmosphere for fuel, allowing it to reach speeds of Mach 5 or higher. Mach 5 is five times the speed of sound, or just shy of 4000 mph. Boeing's revolver launch system, while still in development, represents a pretty sizable step forward in the world of military aviation. The ability to launch multiple hypersonic missiles in quick succession is an obvious benefit for combat commanders, and using aircraft already flying means the system can be deployed quickly. Cargo planes launching weapons out of their hold is not an altogether new concept. The Air Force also has the Rapid Dragon program which puts pallets of cruise missiles on cargo planes, pallets which are then offloaded at altitude ready to deliver freedom from standoff distances. An AC130 can hold multiple 6 pack cruise missile configurations, AC17 Globe Master is big enough for 9 pack setups, and the Rapid Dragon system is equipped with an onboard control module which can be updated with mission parameters and targets while the plane is airborne. So why is the US trying to figure out ways to launch all sorts of weapons from cargo planes? China in this era of great power competition, the United States military wants to deter China from trying to take over Taiwan or trade routes in the East and South China Seas. So the more daunting and dangerous the US can make that task, the more likely China is to fail and hopefully not launch an attack at all. We have plenty more reports on hypersonic weapons and the United States's preparations for great power competition over at san.com. Or you can download the Straight Arrow News app today for all of those stories right on your phone. For Straight Arrow NEWS, I'm Ryan Robertson.