KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - What has zero moving parts, yet can blast an aerial vehicle to velocities beyond Mach 5? The answer is the recently flight-tested Atmospheric Test of Launched Airbreathing System (ATLAS) powered by a new solid-fueled ramjet built by GE Aerospace, David Szondy writes for New Atlas. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
29 September 2025 - GE Aerospace’s ATLAS program successfully flew a solid-fuel ramjet in captive-carry tests, marking the first in-flight demonstration of its kind. The engine contains no moving parts. Inside, a hollow tube lined with a hydrocarbon solid fuel burns as air entering the intake provides the oxygen. As the fuel ablates, fresh fuel is exposed to sustain combustion.
Because the ramjet doesn’t need to carry oxidizer, it is lighter and can deliver a high specific impulse (around 1,000 seconds vs ~240 s for solid rockets). During tests, the ramjet was bolted under an F-104 Starfighter (which flew up to Mach 2.2) in order to validate aerodynamics and structural behavior under realistic conditions. The engine was not ignited in those flights; ignition trials are planned for free-flight stages later.
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Jamie Whitney, Senior Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
