The SR-72 Will Be The Fastest Aircraft In The World

Artist's conceptual rendering of SR-72 hypersonic plane. (Lockheed Martin)  

SOFREP: SR-72 – The US Is Building the Fastest Aircraft in the World  

With all the talk lately of hypersonic missiles and spacecraft, one highly advanced piece of technology might be quietly flying under the radar. Pun intended. Lockheed Martin is developing a new hypersonic plane, the SR-72. If they are successful, it will be the fastest plane in the world, capable of reaching speeds of Mach 6. 

The recent discovery that China launched a hypersonic weapon over the summer, has the world buzzing. The launch caught everyone off guard, including the U.S. intelligence community. The Chinese hypersonic technology is more developed than anticipated or believed. However, it did miss its intended target. This suggests they still have a long way to go in the development of guidance systems, and likely guidance and avionics systems shielding. China downplayed the launch calling the missile a “space vehicle.”  

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WNU Editor: More details here .... Lockheed Martin’s SR-72 Could Revolutionize Everything (National Interest)

Is America’s New SR-72 Spy Plane Just A Dream?

National Interest: America’s New SR-72 Spy Plane: A Mach 6 Monster or Just a Dream? 

The plane will be a drone and will also be able to launch attacks in addition to spying. 

Long a source of speculation throughout the defense commentary sphere, the SR-72 “Son of Blackbird” next-generation drone has been mired in mystery for over a decade. 

The SR-72 is the planned successor to the SR-71, the iconic Cold War-era reconnaissance plane that shattered world records for the fastest manned airbreathing jet engine aircraft. 

Initial reports emerged as early as 2007, but it was only in 2013 that Lockheed Martin official Robert Weiss publicly confirmed that the company had made significant headway into developing a hypersonic plane that he called the “SR-72.” 

Lockheed Martin proceeded to release widely shared concept art for the project—the SR-72 appears to be an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), boasting a groundbreaking purported top speed approaching Mach 6. 

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WNU Editor: It will cost a fortune to develop and manufacture this plane/drone. Will a Biden administration OK this program? I doubt it.

Is A Mach 5 SR-72 Spy Plane Flying In The Sky?

Jack O’Banion posted this image of a digital 'twin' of the craft, saying 'Without the digital transformation, the aircraft you see there could not have been made.'

Caleb Larson, National Interest: Could a Mach 5 SR-72 Spy Plane Already Be in the Sky?

If anything about the SR-71 program can be gleaned, it is that the existence of the SR-72 will likely be unacknowledged for some time after it is operational. For all we know, the SR-72 could already be in the air.

In the late 1990s, the SR-71 Blackbird — the world’s fastest, highest-flying plane ever — was retired. Perhaps preemptively.

Slow Satellites

Although satellite reconnaissance has largely overtaken the role of spy planes, they are not always a perfect solution, particularly when intelligence information is needed very quickly. Satellites can take up to 24 hours to get into the correct place in their orbit, which is considerably slower than the SR-71 Blackbird, which can make LA to D.C. in just over an hour.

The other drawback to satellites is their potentially vulnerable to attack. Since they travel in relatively predictable orbits, countries hostile to a satellite can potentially track their flight path and bring them down in the event of war with the manufacturing country — a crucial vulnerability.

While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have been used extensively for reconnaissance, they are not necessarily very fast, and unless effectively stealthy, they are very vulnerable to attack.

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WNU Editor: Speculations of a successor to the SR-71 have been around for a long time .... Skunkworks Boss Hints Unmanned SR-72 Bomber Prototype Has 'Already Been Made' (January 11, 2018).

More Details Emerge On Boeing's SR-71 Replacement Concept

Popular Mechanics: We Know a Bit More About Boeing's SR-71 Replacement Concept

Possibly called "Valkyrie II," the hypersonic aircraft concept could serve as a strike or reconaissance plane.

At the beginning of the year, Boeing revealed a concept design at an aerospace forum for a strike and reconaissance aircraft that could fly five times the speed of sound—a spiritual successor to the famed Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird reconaissance plane. A model and artist's rendering show a twin-tail, highly swept delta-wing jet in a so-called "waverider" configuration, meaning the hypersonic aircraft would use the shock waves it produces during flight to increase lift and reduce drag.

The Boeing concept is thought to be internally called "Valkyrie II," according to Guy Norris at Aviation Week, though Boeing has not yet green-lighted development of the aircraft. If the aerospace company does move forward with a hypersonic strike and reconaissance plane, it would likely build a scaled, single-engine, proof-of-concept demonstrator aircraft about the size of an F-16 before moving on to a full-scale, twin-engine aircraft the size of the 107-foot-long SR-71.

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WNU Editor: Boeing has a lot of catching up to do .... Boeing's Hypersonic Valkyrie Will Likely Struggle To Catch Up With Lockheed's SR-72 (The Warzone/The Drive).

More Details On The SR-72 Emerge

Lockheed Martin posted an artist's impression of the craft to its website, with the caption 'The Skunk Works hypersonic design – an aircraft developed to execute Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and strike missions at speeds up to Mach 6.'

Boeing has finally unveiled the potential successor to the legendary Blackbird SR-71 spy plane (pictured)- and it is set to travel at more than five times the speed of sound

National Post/Bloomberg: Six times the speed of sound: America’s fastest spy plane could be making a comeback

Lockheed Martin officials have said the hypersonic SR-72 — dubbed the 'Son of Blackbird' by one trade journal — could fly by 2030

(Bloomberg) — For years, Lockheed Martin Corp. has been developing a successor to one of the fastest aircraft the world has ever seen, the SR-71 Blackbird, the Cold War reconnaissance craft that the U.S. Air Force retired almost three decades ago. Lockheed officials have said the hypersonic SR-72 — dubbed the “Son of Blackbird” by one trade journal — could fly by 2030.

But a rather curious talk last week at an aerospace conference by a Lockheed Skunk Works executive implied that the SR-72 might already exist. Referring to detailed specifics of company design and manufacturing, Jack O’Banion, a Lockheed vice president, said a “digital transformation” arising from recent computing capabilities and design tools had made hypersonic development possible. Then — assuming O’Banion chose his word tense purposely — came the surprise.

“Without the digital transformation the aircraft you see there could not have been made,” O’Banion said, standing by an artist’s rendering of the hypersonic aircraft. “In fact, five years ago, it could not have been made.”

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More Details On The SR-72 Emerge

Get Your First Look at the Future of Hypersonic Flight -- Futurism
Boeing unveils its ‘Son of Blackbird’ hypersonic spy plane concept that could travel at 3,800mph -- Daily Mail
Boeing Unveils ‘Son of Blackbird’ Hypersonic Aircraft That Could Go Five Times the Speed of Sound -- Epoch Times
Boeing's 'Son of Blackbird' hypersonic strike aircraft could go five times the speed of sound -- FOX News/The SUN

Boeing Unveils Its Conceptional Hypersonic Jet Design To Replace The SR-71 Blackbird

Boeing

Business Insider: Boeing unveils conceptual hypersonic jet design to replace the SR-71 Blackbird

* Boeing unveiled a conceptual model for a hypersonic jet that would replace the SR-71 Blackbird.
* The jet would hit speeds of more than Mach 5
* No one has committed to building it yet.

Boeing recently unveiled a conceptual model for a new hypersonic jet that would replace the SR-71 Blackbird, according to Aviation Week Aerospace Daily.

The conceptual model was displayed at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech forum in Orlando.

The "airplane concept and associated technology are targeted for a hypersonic ISR (reconnaissance)/strike aircraft that would have the same type of mission as the SR-71," Boeing spokeswoman Sandra Angers told Business Insider in an emailed statement. "In that sense it could be a future replacement for the SR-71."

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Update #1: Boeing reveals the model for a competing design for a reusable hypersonic plane (Next Big Future)
Update #2: "Son of Blackbird": Boeing Reveals Hypersonic Concept That Could Replace SR-71 (Popular Mechanics)

WNU Editor: Boeing better hurry-up .... rumors are circulating that Lockheed has already built a replacement for the SR-71 .... Skunkworks Boss Hints Unmanned SR-72 Bomber Prototype Has 'Already Been Made' (January 11, 2018)

Skunkworks Boss Hints Unmanned SR-72 Bomber Prototype Has 'Already Been Made'

Jack O’Banion posted this image of a digital 'twin' of the craft, saying 'Without the digital transformation, the aircraft you see there could not have been made.'

Daily Mail: Has Lockheed Martin FINISHED building the secret hypersonic successor to the Blackbird? Skunkworks boss hints unmanned SR-72 bomber has 'already been made'

* Unmanned SR-72 will be a strike and reconnaissance aircraft that tops Mach 6
* Firm has been working on the project since the early 2000s

Lockheed Martin's secretive Skunk Works unit may have already finished making the radical hypersonic update of the long-retired Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.

Jack O’Banion, Vice President of Strategy and Customer Requirements, Advanced Development Programs for Lockheed Martin, let slip at a conference the unmanned aircraft has already been made.

Speaking at The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech Forum, he showed a slide of a digital mockup of the craft, and said 'Without the digital transformation, the aircraft you see there could not have been made.'

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Update #1: Lockheed may have completed a prototype hypersonic SR72 (Next Big Future)
Update #2: Lockheed Martin May Be Closer To Completing The Hypersonic SR-72 Than We Thought (Jalopnik)

WNU Editor: Is this the SR-72? .... Is this the US Air Force's secret 4,600mph spy plane? Mystery 'hypersonic aircraft' is captured in Google Earth images of a Florida airbase, conspiracy theorist claims (Daily Mail).

Is The Successor To The SR-71 Blackbird About To Take To The Skies?

Lockheed Martin

Task & Purpose: Report: The SR-71 Blackbird’s Ultra-Secret Successor May Scream Across The Sky Sooner Than Expected

The successor to Lockheed Martin’s SR-71 Blackbird, the Mach 3 long-range recon aircraft that once tore across the skies like a Cold-War era arrowhead before its retirement in 1999, may be inching closer toward reality.

According to Aviation Week, a handful of visitors to the SAE International Aerotech Congress and Exhibition at Fort Worth, Texas, this week reported catching glimpses of a “demonstrator vehicle” believed to be linked to the proposed replacement: the SR-72.

Though the SR-72’s development is (understandably) a tightly-kept secret, Aviation Week reports that: In the early hours of July, an “unmanned subscale aircraft” was seen flying into the Air Force’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, where Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works division is headquartered.

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WNU Editor: Do we really need a mach 6 spy-plane? .... Just Because Lockheed Says They Can Build A Mach 6 Spy Plane Doesn't Mean We Need One (Tyler Rogoway, FoxTrot Alpha).

A New U.S. Spy Plane Is In The Works

The SR-72 will travel at six times the speed of sound—the fastest military jet ever made—and fly as high as 80,000 feet.

Harold C. Hutchison, National Interest: A New SR-71 Blackbird Is in the Works (and It Will Be Even Faster Than Ever)

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is rightly viewed as a legend. Best known as a recon plane that nobody could hit, it even was considered as the basis for a fighter and was the second-fastest manned plane in history.

It served with the United States military from 1964-1998, and with NASA until 1999. The SR-71 had been developed from the A-12 OXCART (no relation to the A-12 Avenger), a single-seat plane capable of making high-speed recon runs as well.

It was thought satellites and drones could replace the SR-71. The problem was that satellites are predictable, and too many drones just don’t have the performance or reliability. But Lockheed’s Skunk Works, which created the A-12/YF-12/SR-71 family, is now developing a SR-72, and they promise it will be faster than the Blackbird.

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WNU Editor: This new "spy plane" has been in the works for the past few years .... A Look At America's Next Spy-Plane The SR-72 (May 23, 2015).

A Look At America's Next Spy-Plane The SR-72

The SR-72 will travel at six times the speed of sound—the fastest military jet ever made—and fly as high as 80,000 feet.

Popular Science: Inside America's Next Spyplane

A secret, hypersonic replacement for the legendary SR-71 promises to transform military aviation.

Born in the spy-vs.-spy cauldron of the Cold War, the iconic SR-71 “Blackbird” remains the fastest air-breathing military aircraft the world has known. It flew so high and so fast that enemy defenses were powerless to intercept it. Eventually, satellite technology and advanced radar eroded its advantage. In 1998, the U.S. Air Force retired it. Now, with regional threats growing and portable surface-to-air missiles evolving, engineers have once again set out to build the fastest military jet on the planet.

This time, it will take the form of a 4,000-mile-per-hour reconnaissance drone with strike capability. Known as the SR-72, the aircraft will evade assault, take spy photos, and attack targets at speeds of up to Mach 6. That’s twice as fast as its predecessor.

WNU Editor: I suspect that it is still on the drawing boards .... and will be there until they are able to overcome many of its engineering obstacles. But it is still fun to dream.

The SR-72 Is Only A Plane On Paper

Image: Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin SR-72 is Only a Plane on Paper -- USNI News

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and Aerojet Rocketdyne have made a breakthrough in hypersonic propulsion technology, but the Mach 6.0-capable SR-72 remains more of aspiration than a real airplane.

The companies have found a way to pair a conventional turbine jet engine, such as those in existing fighter aircraft, with a supersonic combustion ramjet— an engine that can operate effectively only if an aircraft is traveling at very high speeds.

The pairing—first reported by Aviation Week on Friday—makes a hypersonic plane a practical possibility, but Lockheed still faces scores of technological and funding challenges before the so-called Son of Blackbird becomes a reality.

The breakthrough is in the “proprietary way we join up those two systems,” Bradley Leland, Lockheed Martin Skunk Work’s portfolio manager for air-breathing hypersonics, told USNI News in a Monday interview. “The turbine, which works well up to Mach 2, and the scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) work well at Mach 4 and above. By making those work together down at Mach 3—below Mach 3—that’s really the key.”

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Previous Post: Is This America's New Spy Plane?

My Comment: You have to start somewhere.

Is This America's New Spy Plane?

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)