3 ms·

> Hypersonic vehicles are thought to have maneuvering accelerations over 15Gs Considering the mediocre L/D ratio of hypersonic vehicles, this seems extremely o

• sudosysgen 5y ago
  The X-15 was able to sustain G forces in excess of 15Gs. The limit was that its chassis would break apart. Maneuvrability works very differently for high-trust, vectored, supersonic vehicles. That's why A2A missiles can pull of 50Gs despite very low L/D ratio, speed helps a lot. Hypersonic flight magnifies this even further. I mean, look at the X15, it was able to do more than 15Gs despite having lower relative thrust and non-vectored engines, at higher altitudes!
  • jhgb 5y ago
    The X-15 to my knowledge was not under thrust when maneuvering in the hypersonic regime, so I don't understand the connection here. And because of being unpowered and hypersonic, it would still be losing speed more rapidly than even an unpowered airplane or missile flying at a lower velocity. > That's why A2A missiles can pull of 50Gs despite very low L/D ratio No, they can do this because they're small, and being small means a low ballistic coefficient because your mass shrinks faster than the aerodynamic-force-generating area. But a 100kg missile is not what you use to strike very remote targets on the ground.