France wants to build a hypersonic Espadon fighter by 2050 that can fly at over 6174km/h

French state defence research agency Onera hopes its pioneering project will result in the launch of a hypersonic fighter jet. The organisation wants to achieve its vision by 2050.

Here's What We Know

The project is called Espadon, which translates to Swordwish. It has received funding of around $5.4bn. René Mathurin, director of defence research at Onera, said research into the programme focuses on payloads, weapons systems, propulsion and aerodynamics.

The Espandon model has already undergone wind tunnel testing. Onera brought a scaled-down model of the hypersonic aircraft to the Paris Air Show. René Mathurin noted that their development will not be able to reach hypersonic speeds (Mach 5 | 6174km/h) for decades to come.

Source: Breaking Defense