China unleashes supersonic ‘flying monkey’ set to soar at 5,000 km/h
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They said we’d never see the day monkeys flew – but hold on to your bananas, because China’s daring new supersonic aircraft, cheekily dubbed Cuantianhou (or roughly “Monkey That Soars”), is gearing up to zip through near space at a blistering 5,000 km/h. Experts say it’s on track for its inaugural flight in 2026, and, no, this isn’t just monkey business!
A giant leap for near-space travel unveiled in China
Unveiled on January 20 in Chengdu, in China’s southwest province of Sichuan, this unmanned prototype is designed to travel the lofty realm between 20 and 100 kilometres above Earth. At a compact 7 metres in length and weighing a mere 1,500 kilograms, Cuantianhou is definitely punching above its weight in the race to conquer near space.
Powered by a next-generation ramrotor detonation engine – combining rotating detonation technology, a rotor compressor and ramjet-like features – this speed demon promises to get future passengers from A to B faster than their kids can say ‘I need the toilet, Daddy’. Its creators at Sichuan Lingkong Tianxing Technology Co. say the 2026 flight will test everything from aerodynamics to heat-resistant materials and power systems.
Commercial supersonics are coming soon according to Chinese ‘flying monkey’ creator
According to Deng Fan, chief engineer at the company, supersonic passenger planes ‘have a great potential to provide more affordable and reliable high-speed flight services in the coming years’. And Cuantianhou isn’t even the main event. The firm has another project, Dasheng or “King of the Monkeys”, primed for its first passenger-carrying test flight in 2030.
This Chinese aviation outfit isn’t all talk. In October, it tested a prototype supersonic plane dubbed Yunxing, which soared above Mach-4 and has now moved into the engineering phase. No word yet on whether flights will be monkey-themed. Buckle up, because the future of flight is almost here.
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