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| Science & Technology |
| Son of SR-71 On The Way |
| 2007-06-14 |
| A not-so-secret top secret contract has been issued by the U.S. Air Force for work on a replacement for the SR-71 high-altitude, supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. The new aircraft, informally referred to as the SR-72, will apparently be unmanned, and use new high-altitude jet engines that the air force has been working on for some time. The SR-72 is supposed to be capable of twice the range, and greater speed than the SR-71, and at an altitude of 100,000 feet or higher. A high-speed, high-altitude UAV like that would be a good replacement for spy satellites lost to anti-satellite weapons. Aviation Leak sez Mach 6.5 but won't see it until 2020. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #11 Sorry, forgot the link to the DARPA scramjet article |
| Posted by: occasional observer 2007-06-14 21:20 |
| #10 It no longer needs to be manned, it still needs to be high altitude, but does it have to be high speed except to evade missiles? And it doesn't need to carry film, as it can relay its images via satellite. A hypersonic scramjet like this one DARPA tested in 2001 might be carrying .... something a bit more offensive than cameras. And if so, speed would matter, since the harder it is to realize the aircraft is aimed at you, the less time there is to respond to it. |
| Posted by: occasional observer 2007-06-14 21:20 |
| #9 There has to be a lot of debate on whether a step up from the SR-71 is enough, given the tremendous advances in technology in recent years. Think about the original concept: a manned, high altitude, high speed aircraft that takes high resolution film pictures. It no longer needs to be manned, it still needs to be high altitude, but does it have to be high speed except to evade missiles? And it doesn't need to carry film, as it can relay its images via satellite. That is, it sounds really "apples and oranges" different from the SR-71 concept. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-06-14 20:57 |
| #8 This would be a scramjet, actually a turbine-ramjet-scramjet combo. Scramjets demonstrators have hit near mach 10, but the problem is materials can't withstand the extreme heat. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-06-14 20:37 |
| #7 Pulse jet engines have been reported on for many years (donuts on a rope), but advances could make them capable of longer ranges. unmanned is the logical next step, but i would expect that to be phase next and initial versions have a cockpit. the Blackbird was able to reach 100k feet as well as (the YF-12 version) fire missles, although primarily designed for defense against Soviet aircraft that were thought to being built to counter the B-70. the YF-12 was to be the Valkrie's escort. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-06-14 15:26 |
| #6 Is this the high-altitude "pulse jet" engine that they have been working on? When they say twice the range, it makes me wonder if it isn't radically different than what we are using now. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-06-14 13:20 |
| #5 Actually, the SR-71 could carry missiles (which the U.S. has already developed) that can knock down satellites in low earth orbit (as are most spy satellites.) Very interesting! Shoot them Chinee birds down. |
| Posted by: Spot 2007-06-14 10:21 |
| #4 For another interesting speculative program search "Two-Stage-to-Orbit ''Blackstar'' System Shelved at Groom Lake?". Rantburg will not accept the Aviation Week link. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-06-14 09:20 |
| #3 No. But if Aurora exists, it's probably the technology demonstrator for the SR-72. The SR-72 is gonna be huge and expensive. Hope it becomes more than a military system, such as the carrier for an orbital launcher. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-06-14 09:10 |
| #2 Probably. However, there are multiple hypersonic plane designs being evaluated for a variety of missions, not all of them long range reconnaisance. In the case of an SR-71 replacements, the mission and requirements are well defined, there are reports that one or more prototypes are flying, etc. In the case of some other possible missions and designs, it's less clear that the programs are that far along. I do know of a couple detailed studies from a few years ago, however. |
| Posted by: occasional observer 2007-06-14 08:55 |
| #1 Is this the Aurora hypersonic aircraft much talked about over the past decade? |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2007-06-14 08:47 |