Combustion aspects of solid fuel ramjet (SFRJ) are reviewed. On the point of view of the ability of an SFRJ to operate satisfactorily at all off-design conditions the areas of concern to propulsion system designer are (1) selection of a fuel type, (2) flame holding requirements that limit maximum fuel loading, (3) understanding the fuel regression rate behaviour as a function of flight speed and altitude, (4) diffusioncontrolled combustion process and its efficiency enhancement, and (5) inlet/combustor matching. Considering these areas, the following aspects are reviewed from the information available in open literature:
(1) different experimental set-up conditions adopted in combustor research, (2) various suitable fuel types, (3) flammability limits, (4) fuel regression rate behaviour, (5) methods of achieving high efficiency in metallized fuel, and ( 6) various modelling efforts. Detailed discussion is presented on two different types of regression rate mechanism in SFRJ: one that is controlled by the heat transfer processes downstream of the reattachment region and the other by that in the region itself. With a view to demonstrate the use of the information collected through this review, a preliminary design procedure is presented for an SFRJ-assisted gun launched projectile of pseudo-vacuum trajectory.