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Navy/USMC

Navy Tests Solid Fuel Ramjet From Drone

Friday, May 9th, 2025

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Navy Tests Solid Fuel Ramjet From Drone

A BQM-34 unmanned aerial target, which is remotely piloted during flight, releases a test missile over the Point Mugu Sea Range. The test advanced a missile design aimed at improving range and targeting for future Navy missions. (U.S. Navy photo)

The Navy recently launched a Solid Fuel Integral Rocket Ramjet (SFIRR) from an unmanned aircraft target drone for the first time in what it says is a step that advances air-launched missile technology. The May 8 announcement by Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) said they launched the SFIRR from a Northrop Grumman [NOC] BQM-34 target drone over Point Mugu Sea Range in California. NAWCWD argued SFIRR “simplifies missile propulsion by eliminating the complexity found in liquid fuel ramjet…

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