💥 Forget jets and propellers. Rotary detonations power China’s new drone

Plus: OSIRIS-APEX's mission to Apophis, Amazon to invest $4 billion in Anthropic AI, tungsten hydrate opens future to smarter window glass. Forget conventional propulsion technologies, China is pioneering detonation-powered flight. In a secretive test, they allegedly flew and landed a drone powered by a rotating detonation engine (RDE). While details are scant, this rumored achievement could blaze a new path to hypersonic drones and aircraft. If the reports are true, China has made a bold stride into the vanguard of detonation propulsion, further underscoring its aviation ambitions. However, formidable technical barriers remain before this novel approach becomes viable. Find out what we know so far in today’s [Must Read](. Good morning. I’m Tim, newsletter editor at IE. This is the Blueprint. Let's get into it! 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Must Read [China has allegedly tested a new rotary detonation engined drone]( China has allegedly achieved a major breakthrough in drone technology by successfully test-flying an unmanned aerial vehicle powered by a rotating detonation engine (RDE). RDEs use continuous detonations in a circular channel to generate hypersonic speeds from zero velocity. Details remain scarce, but reports claim the 5-meter drone flew with a kerosene-fueled RDE that can rapidly accelerate to multiples of the speed of sound. RDEs could overcome limitations of traditional jet engines and ramjets at high speeds. However, stability issues and intense shockwaves pose hurdles to viability. If the reports are true, RDE-powered drones could have applications in space rockets, military aircraft, and high-speed drones. Click below to learn about what we know so far. 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This breakthrough provides windows that can adapt to varying conditions for energy efficiency, unlike previous dynamic windows limited to clear or dark states. [[Read More]( [Culture]( 💰 Amazon invests $4 billion in Anthropic and heats up the AI race The deal involves an initial $1.25 billion investment and access to up to $2.75 billion more, making Amazon a minority stakeholder. Anthropic will use AWS for computing needs and collaborate on integrating its Claude assistant into Amazon's services. The alliance aims to help developers build innovative AI apps across industries. [[Read More]( job alert In this section you’ll find the latest jobs as featured on: [jobs.interestingengineering.com]( [Senior Web Engineer - Data Technologies Engineering]( [New York,US]( [IoT and Engineering -HiTech Product Engineering Sales -]( [San Francisco,US]( [Software Engineer II, Cloud Engineering]( [Hartford,US]( [Senior Engineer (Tech Lead) - AI Engineering]( [San Francisco,US]( [Software Senior Engineer (Linux Engineering)]( [Bengaluru,IN]( [Director of Quality Engineering]( [California, Oakland, United States,US]( [Engineering Manager]( [Vonore,US]( [Linux and Compute Engineer]( [Irving,US]( [Senior and Principal Engineer – Electrical Engineering (C&I)]( [Barrow-In-Furness,UK]( [Director 1 - Aeronautical Engineering - Advanced Programs/ Chief Engineer]( [Huntsville,US]( QUESTION OF THE DAY In the race for AI supremacy, is Amazon’s $4 billion investment in Anthropic a good move? 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