Zaporozhye Machine-building Design Bureau "Progress" named after Ivchenko will develop the first Ukrainian ramjet engine (RAMJET). In an interview with Security talks, the head of marketing at Progress, Sergey Dmitriev [...], said that the bureau has calculations for achieving hypersonic speed-more than six Mach, but first it will build a reduced model of the ramjet to work out its interaction with the input device of the aircraft.
The ramjet engine is potentially capable of operating at hypersonic speeds and in the highest layers of the atmosphere, where other air-rocket engines are ineffective or do not work at all. In Gorenje's subsonic version, the combustion air is decelerated and compressed in an expanding diffuser. Hypersonic ramjet is arranged differently: gorenje air is supplied to the chamber by direct current without additional compressors.
The Ivchenko Progress Design Bureau has been investigating the possibility of creating an air-jet engine since 2014. Before proceeding to the development of technologies, the specialists studied the designs of existing supersonic missiles: the Chinese YJ-12, the Japanese XASM-3, the French ASMP-A and the American GQM-163 Coyote. They also used their own experience in creating the afterburner of the AI-322F turbojet twin-circuit engine of the Chinese Hongdu L-15 combat training aircraft. Its principle of operation is similar to a ramjet engine.
In an interview with the Security talks program, the head of the gas dynamic calculations and advanced development department of the Progress Bureau, Alexander Elansky, said that the company now has a result that allows it to start developing and producing ramjet engines. First, it will build a smaller model of the engine to work out its interaction with the input device. According to the head of marketing of the bureau Sergey Dmitriev, the bureau has calculations for achieving hypersonic speed-more than six Mach. It is assumed that the engine will be installed on the supersonic anti-ship missile "Lightning", the layout of which the bureau "Southern" showed in 2019.
The development of a hypersonic ramjet engine has been engaged in for several years China, Russia and the United States . All three countries are already in the testing phase.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva