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Critical Technology

Advanced Propulsion & Hypersonic Systems

The capacity to propel flight at the frontier: advanced air-breathing and rocket propulsion, hypersonic flight technologies, and the propulsion systems that decide speed, range and endurance in air, sea and space. One of the capabilities of Space Technologies.

International families
1,8302015 to 2024
Leading country
United States3.2× the next
All families
10khome filings included
Over five years
Falling2020 to 2024 against the five before

Year by year

Patent families by country of origin and the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in. International families are those for which protection was sought beyond one country.

Volume

International patent families in the capability, by the year of the earliest filing.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Share by country

Each country's share of the year's international families, in per cent: the capability's five largest countries of origin, 2015 to 2024, and the rest of the world.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Country leaderboard

International patent families, 2015 to 2024, by country of origin. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.

Ten largest

United States

France

Germany

Japan

China

United Kingdom

South Korea

Canada

Italy

India

732

229

172

130

104

73

55

40

32

28

2000 to 2025
1United States73240.0%0.8×
1,480
2France22912.5%0.6×
302
3Germany1729.4%0.8×
257
4Japan1307.1%0.9×
303
5China1045.7%2.5×
6,285
6United Kingdom734.0%1.1×
119
7South Korea553.0%1.9×
491
8Canada402.2%1.4×
51
9Italy321.7%1.5×
48
10India281.5%1.8×
28
11Israel271.5%0.9×
31
12Russia181.0%0.6×
658
13Spain170.9%1.1×
23
14Austria160.9%3.0×
17
15Switzerland130.7%1.6×
17
16Sweden130.7%0.6×
17
17Taiwan120.7%0.7×
29
18Australia110.6%0.6×
28
19Poland110.6%2.7×
49
20Türkiye100.5%4.0×
24
21Netherlands60.3%1.0×
9
22Finland60.3%2.0×
8
23Brazil50.3%4.0×
13
24New Zealand50.3%1.5×
5
25Mexico50.3%1.5×
7
26Belgium40.2%0.3×
6
27South Africa40.2%3.0×
4
28Singapore30.2%2.0×
4
29Liechtenstein20.1%1.0×
2
30Portugal20.1%–
2
31Norway10.1%–
1
32Luxembourg10.1%0.0×
1
33Saudi Arabia10.1%0.0×
6
34Malaysia10.1%0.0×
1
35Ireland00.0%–
1
36Czechia00.0%–
5
37Hungary00.0%–
2

Applicants

The largest applicants by international patent families, 2015 to 2024: across the world, then within each of the five countries with the most families in Advanced Propulsion & Hypersonic Systems. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.

Global

1,830 international families

ARIANEGROUP SAS · France

GEN ELECTRIC · United States

BOEING CO · United States

RAYTHEON CO · United States

AEROJET ROCKETDYNE INC · United States

ARIANEGROUP GMBH · Germany

102

70

66

60

49

49

United States

732 international families

GEN ELECTRIC

BOEING CO

RAYTHEON CO

AEROJET ROCKETDYNE INC

HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORP

ZE BOING KOMPANI

70

66

60

49

25

18

France

229 international families

ARIANEGROUP SAS

AIRBUS SAFRAN LAUNCHERS SAS

AIRBUS DEFENCE & SPACE SAS

CENTRE NAT ETD SPATIALES

CENTRE NAT RECH SCIENT

SNECMA

102

29

21

20

19

18

Germany

172 international families

ARIANEGROUP GMBH

DEUTSCH ZENTR LUFT & RAUMFAHRT

AIRBUS DS GMBH

AIRBUS DEFENCE & SPACE GMBH

BAYERN CHEMIE GES FUER FLUGCHEMISCHE ANTRIEBE MBH

ROLLS ROYCE DEUTSCHLAND LTD & CO KG

49

24

19

15

8

6

Japan

130 international families

MITSUBISHI HEAVY IND LTD

JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP

NAT RES & DEVELOPMENT AGENCY JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY

IHI CORP

IHI AEROSPACE CO LTD

28

23

16

16

13

5

China

104 international families

XIAN AEROSPACE PROPULSION INSTITUTE

SHANGHAI INST SPACE PROPULSION

UNIV NANJING AERONAUTICS & ASTRONAUTICS

XIAN SPACE ENGINE COMPANY LTD

BEIJING INSTITUTE TECH

HANGZHOU INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY UNIV OF CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

9

7

6

6

4

4

Similar capabilities

The nine capabilities that share the most international patent families with Advanced Propulsion & Hypersonic Systems, 2015 to 2024: the families counted in both as a share of those counted in either. Each card shows its five largest countries.

National Security

Assured Space Access

44.7% shared · 893 families in both

United States

France

Germany

Japan

China

348

166

106

80

69

Critical Technology

Space Launch & Reusable Systems

44.1% shared · 917 families in both

United States

France

Germany

Japan

China

369

176

121

104

78

Strategic Infrastructure

Satellites & Orbital Systems

8.2% shared · 872 families in both

United States

China

Japan

France

South Korea

3,071

2,252

925

693

509

National Security

Control of the Air

6.8% shared · 149 families in both

United States

United Kingdom

Germany

Türkiye

France

176

57

50

43

41

Critical Technology

Satellite & Constellation Technologies

4.5% shared · 487 families in both

United States

China

Japan

France

South Korea

2,984

2,248

933

651

508

Strategic Infrastructure

Launch, Maintenance & Support

4.1% shared · 111 families in both

United States

France

Germany

United Kingdom

Japan

428

135

90

56

54

National Security

Space Domain Awareness & Control

2.4% shared · 53 families in both

Japan

United States

France

Germany

China

145

123

41

26

21

Critical Technology

Energetic Materials

2.3% shared · 56 families in both

United States

France

China

Germany

Japan

166

62

59

59

41

National Security

Long-Range Strike

2.2% shared · 58 families in both

United States

Germany

United Kingdom

France

Israel

278

159

88

77

44

Crosswalk

How Advanced Propulsion & Hypersonic Systems is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 111 Cooperative entries in all. A patent family counts when any of its codes, in either scheme and at any office, falls under one of them. Codes since retired are placed under the entries that replaced them.

EntryTitle in the schemeWhy it is chosenCPC codesIPC codesDocuments
F02K9/00Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereofRocket engines614855,721
F02K7/00Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereofRamjets, scramjets and pulse jets151310,989
F23R7/00Intermittent or explosive combustion chambersDetonation and pulsed combustion chambers111,709
F03H1/00Using plasma to produce a reactive propulsive thrustPlasma and ion thrusters1619,327
B64G1/40Arrangements or adaptations of propulsion systemsSpacecraft propulsion systems17119,104
B64C30/00Supersonic type aircraftSupersonic and hypersonic aircraft112,465

CPC and IPC codes are the codes in use on patent documents, at any office, that fall under the entry. Documents is the larger of the two schemes' counts of documents carrying one of them. An entry with no IPC codes can be told apart only in the Cooperative scheme.

The Cooperative codes in use that count towards Advanced Propulsion & Hypersonic Systems: 111 codes on 97,015 documents. The full crosswalk is in the cpc-to-capability.csv download.

CodeTitleUnder entryHow placedDocuments
B64G1/402Propellant tanks; Feeding propellantsB64G1/40In the scheme3,731
F02K9/95Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by starting or ignition means or arrangementsF02K9/00In the scheme2,768
F02K9/64Combustion or thrust chambers having cooling arrangementsF02K9/00In the scheme2,712
F02K9/52InjectorsF02K9/00In the scheme2,646
B64G1/40Arrangements or adaptations of propulsion systemsB64G1/40In the scheme2,615
F02K9/97Rocket nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme2,540
B64C30/00Supersonic type aircraftB64C30/00In the scheme2,465
B64G1/401Liquid propellant rocket enginesB64G1/40In the scheme2,442
F02K9/96Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by specially adapted arrangements for testing or measuringF02K9/00In the scheme2,210
B64G1/413Ion or plasma enginesB64G1/40In the scheme2,106
F02K7/10Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof characterised by having ram-action compression, i.e. aero-thermo-dynamic-ducts or ram-jet enginesF02K7/00In the scheme2,085
F02K9/60Constructional parts; Details not otherwise provided forF02K9/00In the scheme1,869
F02K9/62Combustion or thrust chambersF02K9/00In the scheme1,802
F23R7/00Intermittent or explosive combustion chambersF23R7/00In the scheme1,709
F02K9/34Casings; Combustion chambers; Liners thereofF02K9/00In the scheme1,547
F02K9/44Feeding propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme1,490
F02K9/42Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using liquid or gaseous propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme1,420
F02K9/58Propellant feed valvesF02K9/00In the scheme1,419
B64G1/4021Tank construction; Details thereofB64G1/40In the scheme1,414
F02K9/972Fluid cooling arrangements for nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme1,352
F02K9/50Feeding propellants using pressurised fluid to pressurise the propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme1,337
F02K9/605ReservoirsF02K9/00In the scheme1,238
F02K7/18Composite ram-jet/rocket enginesF02K7/00In the scheme1,229
F02K9/48Feeding propellants using pumps driven by a gas turbine fed by propellant combustion gases or fed by vaporized propellants or other gasesF02K9/00In the scheme1,224
F02K9/974Nozzle- linings; Ablative coatingsF02K9/00In the scheme1,166
F03H1/0012Means for supplying the propellantF03H1/00In the scheme1,149
F02K7/02Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof the jet being intermittent, i.e. pulse-jetF02K7/00In the scheme1,143
F02K9/72Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using liquid and solid propellants, i.e. hybrid rocket-engine plantsF02K9/00In the scheme1,123
F02K9/46Feeding propellants using pumpsF02K9/00In the scheme1,104
B64G1/409Unconventional spacecraft propulsion systemsB64G1/40In the scheme1,042
F02K7/16Composite ram-jet/turbo-jet enginesF02K7/00In the scheme1,033
F03H1/00Using plasma to produce a reactive propulsive thrustF03H1/00In the scheme1,010
F03H1/0075Electrostatic ion thrusters grid-less with an applied magnetic field with an annular channel; Hall-effect thrusters with closed electron driftF03H1/00In the scheme1,006
F02K9/346Liners, e.g. inhibitorsF02K9/00In the scheme1,001
F02K9/08Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using solid propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme992
F03H1/0081Electromagnetic plasma thrustersF03H1/00In the scheme992
F02K9/56ControlF02K9/00In the scheme976
F02K9/10Shape or structure of solid propellant chargesF02K9/00In the scheme964
F02K9/24Charging rocket engines with solid propellants; Methods or apparatus specially adapted for working solid propellant chargesF02K9/00In the scheme951
F02K9/80Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector controlF02K9/00In the scheme935
F02K9/32Constructional parts; Details not otherwise provided forF02K9/00In the scheme929
B64G1/411Electric propulsionB64G1/40In the scheme916
F02K9/84Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control using movable nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme891
F02K9/68Decomposition chambersF02K9/00In the scheme886
F02K9/00Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereofF02K9/00In the scheme880
B64G1/407Solar sailingB64G1/40In the scheme790
F03H1/0037Electrostatic ion thrustersF03H1/00In the scheme784
F02K9/38Safety devices, e.g. to prevent accidental ignitionF02K9/00In the scheme762
B64G1/403Solid propellant rocket enginesB64G1/40In the scheme755
B64G1/415Arcjets or resistojetsB64G1/40In the scheme750
F02K9/425PropellantsF02K9/00In the scheme744
F03H1/0087Electro-dynamic thrusters, e.g. pulsed plasma thrustersF03H1/00In the scheme731
F02K7/06Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof the jet being intermittent, i.e. pulse-jet with combustion chambers having valvesF02K7/00In the scheme727
F02K9/94Re-ignitable or restartable rocket- engine plants; Intermittently operated rocket-engine plantsF02K9/00In the scheme703
F03H1/0006Details applicable to different types of plasma thrustersF03H1/00In the scheme699
F02K9/86Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control using nozzle throats of adjustable cross- sectionF02K9/00In the scheme686
F02K7/00Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereofF02K7/00In the scheme685
F02K9/26Burning controlF02K9/00In the scheme684
F02K9/805Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control servo-mechanisms or control devices thereforF02K9/00In the scheme674
F02K9/36Propellant charge supportsF02K9/00In the scheme643
F02K9/78Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plant with an air-breathing jet-propulsion plantF02K9/00In the scheme637
F03H1/0018Arrangements or adaptations of power supply systemsF03H1/00In the scheme631
B64G1/4024Propellant tanks; Feeding propellants refuelling in spaceB64G1/40In the scheme627
F02K9/978Closures for nozzles; Nozzles comprising ejectable or discardable elementsF02K9/00In the scheme595
F02K7/005Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof the engine comprising a rotor rotating under the actions of jets issuing from this rotorF02K7/00In the scheme592
F02K9/343Joints, connections, seals thereforF02K9/00In the scheme586
F02K9/12Shape or structure of solid propellant charges made of two or more portions burning at different rates or having different characteristicsF02K9/00In the scheme576
F02K7/14Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof characterised by having ram-action compression, i.e. aero-thermo-dynamic-ducts or ram-jet engines with external combustion, e.g. scram-jet enginesF02K7/00In the scheme563
F02K9/28Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using solid propellants having two or more propellant charges with the propulsion gases exhausting through a common nozzleF02K9/00In the scheme547
F02K9/82Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control by injection of a secondary fluid into the rocket exhaust gasesF02K9/00In the scheme523
F02K9/88Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control using auxiliary rocket nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme522
F02K9/90Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control using deflectorsF02K9/00In the scheme514
F02K7/08Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof the jet being continuousF02K7/00In the scheme507
F02K9/18Shape or structure of solid propellant charges of the internal-burning type having a star or like shaped internal cavityF02K9/00In the scheme497
B64G1/408Nuclear spacecraft propulsionB64G1/40In the scheme470
B64G1/417Electromagnetic fields or flux without mass expulsionB64G1/40In the scheme443
F02K7/04Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof the jet being intermittent, i.e. pulse-jet with resonant combustion chambersF02K7/00In the scheme417
F02K9/976Deployable nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme414
B64G1/4022Arrangements of tanks in or on spacecraftB64G1/40In the scheme396
F02K9/14Shape or structure of solid propellant charges made from sheet-like materials, e.g. of carpet-roll type, of layered structureF02K9/00In the scheme392
F03H1/0031Thermal management, heating or cooling parts of the thrusterF03H1/00In the scheme390
F02K9/563Control of propellant feed pumpsF02K9/00In the scheme380
F02K9/566Control elements and safety devices, e.g. pressure relief valvesF02K9/00In the scheme367
F03H1/0043Electrostatic ion thrusters characterised by the acceleration gridF03H1/00In the scheme366
F03H1/0093Electro-thermal plasma thrusters, i.e. thrusters heating the particles in a plasmaF03H1/00In the scheme336
F02K7/12Injection-induction jet enginesF02K7/00In the scheme335
F02K9/40Cooling arrangementsF02K9/00In the scheme310
F03H1/0025Neutralisers, i.e. means for keeping electrical neutralityF03H1/00In the scheme309
F03H1/0062Electrostatic ion thrusters grid-less with an applied magnetic fieldF03H1/00In the scheme299
F02K9/70Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using semi- solid or pulverulent propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme297
F02K9/30Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using solid propellants with the propulsion gases exhausting through a plurality of nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme283
B64G1/404Hybrid rocket enginesB64G1/40In the scheme278
F02K7/105Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof characterised by having ram-action compression, i.e. aero-thermo-dynamic-ducts or ram-jet engines using a solid fuelF02K7/00In the scheme273
F03H1/0068Electrostatic ion thrusters grid-less with an applied magnetic field with a central channel, e.g. end-Hall typeF03H1/00In the scheme273
F02K7/075Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof the jet being intermittent, i.e. pulse-jet with multiple pulse-jet enginesF02K7/00In the scheme268
F02K9/763Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plant with another rocket-engine plant; Multistage rocket-engine plants with solid propellantF02K9/00In the scheme230
B64G1/4005Air-breathing propulsionB64G1/40In the scheme223
F02K9/76Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plant with another rocket-engine plant; Multistage rocket-engine plantsF02K9/00In the scheme217
F03H1/005Electrostatic ion thrusters using field emission, e.g. Field Emission Electric Propulsion [FEEP]F03H1/00In the scheme212
F02K9/92Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control incorporating means for reversing or terminating thrustF02K9/00In the scheme189
F02K7/20Composite ram-jet/pulse-jet enginesF02K7/00In the scheme187
F02K9/66Combustion or thrust chambers of the rotary typeF02K9/00In the scheme181
F02K7/067Plants in which the working fluid is used in a jet only, i.e. the plants not having a turbine or other engine driving a compressor or a ducted fan; Control thereof the jet being intermittent, i.e. pulse-jet with combustion chambers having valves having aerodynamic valvesF02K7/00In the scheme180
F02K9/54Leakage detectors; Purging systems; Filtration systemsF02K9/00In the scheme153
F03H1/0056Electrostatic ion thrusters with an acceleration grid and an applied magnetic fieldF03H1/00In the scheme140
F02K9/766Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plant with another rocket-engine plant; Multistage rocket-engine plants with liquid propellantF02K9/00In the scheme139
F02K9/22Shape or structure of solid propellant charges of the front-burning typeF02K9/00In the scheme116
F02K9/74Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plantF02K9/00In the scheme107
B64G1/4026Propellant tanks; Feeding propellants providing propellant to propulsion systems of differing typeB64G1/40In the scheme106
F02K9/20Shape or structure of solid propellant charges of the external-burning typeF02K9/00In the scheme86
F02K9/16Shape or structure of solid propellant charges of honeycomb structureF02K9/00In the scheme60
Match: Direct
The capability is itself a technology or a kind of physical system, and the classification names it. Hypersonic flight has no entry of its own; conventional turbofans (F02K3) and marine propulsion are left out. The crosswalk is a first pass that nobody has reviewed.

Other capabilities in Space Technologies