The engine is of great interest here. A ramjet engine is a combination of a hypersonic ramjet engine (scramjet) and a rocket engine. As the rocket accelerates, the engine switches from one mode to the next.
Such an engine has a number of advantages; the main one being that it doesn’t need to carry as much compressed oxygen as a pure rocket. It can collect oxygen from the air like a normal jet engine. This ultimately allows you to carry more fuel or a larger load. In addition, Feitian-1 can run on kerosene-based aviation fuel.
It is claimed that the engine can accelerate the rocket to a speed of over Mach 5.
Source: Ferra
