Fifth-generation aircraft have already flown up, but the development of science and technology does not stand still, so more and more information appears on work on projects of 6th generation aircraft. But in order for a sixth generation aircraft to appear, a fundamentally new engine must first appear.
Already today, aviation receives a challenge in which a new machine should not only be effective in the atmosphere, but also have the ability to go into space.
But a traditional atmospheric engine will not allow this, therefore, scientists have actively taken up the development of a hybrid of rocket and aircraft engines. This is exactly what the hydrogen engine can be. If it is possible to create a successful hydrogen engine, cryogenic aviation will appear almost immediately, and Russia will single-handedly break into the world of aircraft construction of the sixth generation.
It may seem fantastic and the cryogenic aviation poster may look too bright and unattainable. But even more than 30 years ago, at sunset of the USSR, they tested the promising Tu-155 aircraft, on which the NK-88 hydrogen engine was already installed.
The development and research obtained as a result of testing the NK-88 were laid as the foundation for the development of a hypersonic engine.
Unfortunately, the collapse of the Soviet Union did not allow the projects described above to receive full development. But the baggage of research of the past has remained and has not disappeared anywhere, engineers of our days can use the achievements of past years.
Recently, Russia has become significantly more invested in the defense industry and development, and therefore there is a high probability that work on the new engine has long been underway.
Most likely, we will receive full-fledged information about the new engine at the moment when this will be the right moment. We already saw a similar example when hypersonic weapons from the highest rostrum were announced.
