Lockheed plans successor to the SR-71 Blackbird
Defence giant Lockheed Martin is planning to build a successor to the SR-71 Blackbird - a spy plane which, despite being retired in 1998, still holds the record for the world's fastest air breathing manned aircraft.
Powered by a new hypersonic engine design that combines turbines and ramjets, the unmanned SR-72 is expected to be twice as fast as its predecessor, with a cruising speed of Mach 6 (4,567mph).
The aircraft's purpose will be to provide the US with not only a hypersonic recon platform, but also a strike aircraft as well.
"Hypersonic aircraft, coupled with hypersonic missiles, could penetrate denied airspace and strike at nearly any location across a continent in less than an hour," said Lockheed Martin's Brad Leland. "Speed 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 battle space today."
Key to the SR-72's speed is what Lockheed calls Turbine-Based Combined Cycle Propulsion. In this new system, each of the two engines share combined inlets and nozzles connected to two different powerplants as a way to significantly reduce drag.
The upper engine is a turbine, which is used to power the SR-72 as it takes off from a conventional runway and accelerates it to Mach 3.
The lower dual-mode ramjet then takes over to accelerate the plane to Mach 6.
As no new technologies need to be invented for the SR-72, Lockheed says a demonstration aircraft could fly by 2018, and the plane could be fully operational by 2030.
