Everything We Know About The Lockheed Martin SR-72: The Blackbirdโ€™s Hypersonic Successor
โ€” 9 January 2019

Everything We Know About The Lockheed Martin SR-72: The Blackbirdโ€™s Hypersonic Successor

โ€” 9 January 2019

The Lockheed Martin SR-71 โ€œBlackbirdโ€ reigned supreme for over three decades as Americaโ€™s premier spy plane. Capable of reaching speeds over three times the speed of sound, the SR-71 still holds the record for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft ever created.

Although retired in 1999, the Blackbirdโ€™s creators, Lockheed Martin, recently announced they planned on building the SR-72, an unmanned hypersonic successor to the SR-71. The construction of this aviation marvel is headed by Lockheed Martinโ€™s advanced development program known as Skunk Works.

The crew at Skunk Works are equipping the SR-72 with two hybrid jet/rocket engines with the potential to reach speeds in excess of Mach 6 (7350.26 kph), with Lockheed hoping the jet will be able to reach any destination on earth within an hour. Itโ€™s also believed the aircraft will be fitted with high-tech weaponry, meaning along with being sent out on recon missions, the SR-72 could also be used to strike specific targets. 

โ€œHypersonic aircraft, coupled with hypersonic missiles, could penetrate denied airspace and strike at nearly any location across a continent in less than an hour,โ€ said Brad Leland, Lockheed Martin program manager. โ€œSpeed is the next aviation advancement to counter emerging threats in the next several decades. The technology would be a game-changer in theatre, similar to how stealth is changing the battlespace today.โ€

Lockheed Martin has confirmed ground tests have been conducted on the powerful engine and theyโ€™re planning on beginning aerial testing in the early 2020s, with an actual finished model of the SR-72 hopefully in the air during the early 2030s.

RELATED: Concordeโ€™s Supersonic Successor To Begin Test Flights This Year

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