MBDA Launches Methyle Hypersonic Test Bench

Released on Sunday, September 28, 2008

MBDA and Roxel are setting up a new hypersonic line called METHYLE (a test system for long-endurance hypersonic technologies) in the ramjet test facility of their Bourges-Subdray plant. The system has been developed with support from the European Union (FEDER fund), the Government, the Centre region, the Département of Cher and the city of Bourges.

The METHYLE system is capable of simulating flight conditions up to Mach 7.5 (7500 km/h, 2400 Kelvin) for several minutes, for large-size mockups and prototypes, and thus comes as a unique test system in Europe and one of the very few resources of this type in the world.

METHYLE will strongly contribute to the technological development effort that is being made on high-speed aerobic propulsion by MBDA and ONERA, with support from DGA and the European Union, and in cooperation with CNRS (Orléans, Bourges, Nancy), the "P�le capteurs" (sensors centre), Roxel, Astrium ST, and Auxitrol.

METHYLE will be used in particular to perform synthesis tests on an experimental vehicle. A dual-mode ramjet engine will allow the experimental vehicle to fly at a very high Mach number. Flight tests will allow the validation of the methodology of development of a hypersonic aerobic vehicle (using the oxygen in the atmosphere as oxidizer).

It will also provide essential technological inputs and bases for future programmes on fully-reusable and flexible space launchers, or aircraft to transport passengers from London to Sydney in just two hours' time.

All these R&T efforts, and particularly METHYLE, are the natural continuation of 40 years of research and development MBDA, Roxel and ONERA have been conducting in the sphere of ramjet engines, and which have already materialized in the form of the ASMP and ASMPA airborne missiles.

Building upon their unique experience and skills in the sphere of ramjet engines, MBDA and ONERA are also involved in European projects LAPCAT (Long-term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies) and ATLLAS (Aerodynamic and Thermal Load Interactions with Lightweight Advanced Materials for High-Speed Flight). In the medium term, METHYLE should also contribute to the studies on high-speed civil transport and the reusable space launcher, which are sponsored by the European Union under the said programmes.

The purpose of the LAPCAT project is to evaluate the feasibility of a civil transport "aircraft" capable of flying at Mach 5 or Mach 8, using different types of combined cycle engines (turbojet engine � dual-mode ramjet engine � rocket motor). ATLLAS focuses on the development of composite materials capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and intended for the structural parts and the combustion chambers of these future engines."