Image: Lockheed Martin
Hypersonic Successor to Legendary SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane Unveiled -- Autopia/Wired
Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Works has finally unveiled the long-awaited successor to the SR-71 Blackbird. Aviation Week and Space Technology’s Guy Norris pulled the covers off the project that Lockheed Martin is simply calling the SR-72. The new airplane will be roughly the same size as the record-setting Blackbird, but will be able to fly twice as fast as the jet that still holds the speed records.
The new spy plane will be capable of Mach 6 cruise speeds, making it the first hypersonic aircraft to enter service should it be produced. Only the rocket-powered North American X-15 was able to regularly fly those speeds, and the three examples built were used for research. The SR-71 Blackbird is legendary in aviation circles for its Mach 3 capabilities, and different iterations served as a spy plane for 35 years until its retirement in 1998. It still holds several records, including a flight from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 64 minutes, 20 seconds.
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More News On The SR-72
Exclusive: Skunk Works Reveals SR-71 Successor Plan -- Aviation Week
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works reveals a Mach 6 strike successor of SR-71 Blackbird dubbed SR-72 -- The Aviationist
Lockheed shows plans for hypersonic spy plane; focus on low cost -- Reuters
Much Faster Than a Speeding Bullet -- Time
This Stealthy, Hypersonic Drone Could Become The Most Exotic Plane Ever -- Killer Apps/Foreign Policy
This is the successor to the SR-71 Blackbird, and it is gorgeous -- Washington Post
Lockheed Martin announces plans for SR-72 hypersonic spy drone -- RT
Lockheed envisions Mach 6 successor to SR-71 Blackbird -- CNet
Lockheed begins work on the SR-72, spy plane of the future -- Dvice
SR-72, a Hypersonic Drone is Positioned to be the Successor of SR-71 ‘BlackBird’ -- Defense Update
This is the amazing Lockheed Martin SR-72—the space Blackbird -- Sploid/Gizmodo
The engine of the SR-72 (Image: Lockheed Martin)
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