法国正在致力于发展高超声速吸气式推进系统和推阻平衡预测能力所需要的技术。通过地面试验研究完成其大部分技术开发,目前正在对燃烧室进行攻关研究,以确保燃烧效率和结构热力强度满足要求。另一方面,为了掌握推阻平衡技术,必须进行飞行试验。因此,MBDA和ONERA正在推进LEA飞行试验计划。此计划始于2003年1月,准备在后续几年内完成马赫数4到8的若干次飞行试验。在2009年中期,通过关键设计评估完成了LEA飞行器推进系统的验证。将确定在2011年春季通过一系列自由射流试验验证飞行器的推阻平衡。此外,系统地开展了可重复使用运载器和高速民用飞行器的可行性和可实现的工作性能研究。

French R&T effort for hypersonic airbreathing propulsion is focusing on needed technologies for the propulsion system and acquisition of aero-propulsive balance prediction capability.A large part of technology development effort can be led on ground and is currently dedicated to combustion chamber to ensure its performance and thermomechanical strength.On the contrary,it is mandatory to flight demonstrate capability to predict the aero-propulsive balance.In that view,MBDA and ONERA are leading the flight testing LEA program.Started in January 2003,the program aims at performing several autonomous flight tests of an experimental vehicle in Mach number range 4 to 8 within the few next years.Guidelines for LEA vehicle and its propulsion system design have been validated in mid 2009 by a critical design review.The aero-propulsive configuration will be definitively validated by a first free jet test series to be performed in Spring 2011.Beyond this technology development effort,some system studies are performed to assess feasibility and achievable performances of operational application like reusable space launcher and very high-speed civilian transport.

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