China’s breakneck progress in aircraft development passed a new milestone at the weekend after it ground-tested an unnamed turbine engine said to use AI to operate at speeds equivalent to Mach 4.
The SCMP says the engine will power a faster and more advanced version of the US's legendary SR-71 Blackbird, which could reach Mach 3.2 but was retired in 1999.
The tests follow trial flights of two sixth-generation Chinese stealth fighters – the Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50 – in early January.
The J-36 can control fleets of drones, air-launch long-range missiles and has potential to destroy opponents from behind the horizon.
The West is lagging behind China in sixth-generation aircraft development; the US Air Force faces a budget crunch and is scrapping the so-called Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter in favour of drone development.
The UK greenlit development of the Tempest aircraft in November, in collaboration with Japan and Italy. It’s expected to be in the air by 2035.
