A flight test of gel fuelled propulsion is to be conducted by European missile company MBDA in October or November this year.
Gel fuels have the storage advantages of solid propellants but under shear stress they act like liquids.
The missile-like test vehicle will fly at up to Mach 1.2.
The motor that uses the gel fuel had its combustion efficiency measured last year and while the insulation used at the time was determined to have had some bearing on the motor's effectiveness, efficiency levels of 85-95% were achieved.
MBDA project engineer Ralf Stierle says: "There is also work on bipropellant [versions]."
Source: Flight International
