Advanced Energy Deposition Ignition Systems for High-Speed Flight

Dominance in hypersonic systems is necessary to counter emerging threats from near-peer states which are aggressively developing their own hypersonic capabilities. An important part of the Air Force’s projected future capabilities is reusable hypersonic aircraft with the ability to operate from conventional fields and accelerate to speeds of Mach 5 or above. These aircraft could perform a variety of missions including, ISR, ordinance delivery to time-critical targets and responsive access to space. Boost-to-cruise scramjet powered systems for long range air-air and air-ground engagements are also desired. In order to enable these systems, light weight, IM-compliant flame holding, and ignition systems are necessary. The proposed phase II will continue to develop a plasma-based ignition and flame holding aid originally developed for civil aviation. The proposed work will consist of significant direct-connect rig testing and to develop a flight-weight plasma-based ignition system. The proposed phase II will culminate with a test of a flight weight ignition system on a flight clearance scramjet engine for an existing DoD program.