/sci/ - Science & Math

>>3885900
Yeah, the vehicle more or less bridges the gap between ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. It's intended to carry a lightweight, precision-guided payload to a high-value target thousands of miles away at high hypersonic velocities (we're talking potentially mach 10+ here). The secret is that it uses a low-drag, high-altitude lifting reentry profile, not unlike that of the X-20 DynaSoar or Silbervogel intercontinental skip-gliders, which permit it to fly much farther than a fully-ballistic trajectory would allow.

>>3885900
Yes, the Falcon is essentially a hypersonic cruise missile that employs a high-altitude boost-glide profile to fly 9000 miles at around mach 7, carrying a lightweight, precision-guided payload.