Son of Blackbird; mach 5.

They can certainly Powerpoint it with the best of them.
 
Why? The SR71 was designed to outrun missiles. We can get awesome intelligence from satellites, what is this actually there for?
 
steingar said:
Why? The SR71 was designed to outrun missiles. We can get awesome intelligence from satellites, what is this actually there for?
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Missiles are faster than they were in the '60s.
Satellites aren't always in the right place at the right time and it takes time to retask them.
There are some things you just can't see with a Satellite.
 
I thought this was about azblackbird’s son. Wrong ‘blackbird’.
 
steingar said:
We can get awesome intelligence from satellites, what is this actually there for?
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Potential adversaries know orbital mechanics and the timing of overhead satellite passes, so they can hide certain things during satellite overflights. A Mach 5 recon platform can show up unexpectedly and possibly see things that would be hidden from a satellite.
 
Lockheed started talking about this 5 years ago. It's the SR-72 and it won't be manned.

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/features/2015/sr-72.html

"Envisioned as an unmanned aircraft, the SR-72 would fly at speeds up to Mach 6, or six times the speed of sound. At this speed, the aircraft would be so fast, an adversary would have no time to react or hide."
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Supposed Blackbird replacement. May or may not exist. I doubt it does since it has been kept as only a rumor for so long.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(aircraft)
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There was an article in Aviation Week several years ago by one of their tech guys who'd been chasing the Aurora for years. It was his white whale, so to speak. Through talks with a bunch of people at the various big aviation shops, he concluded that someone (probably Lockheed) had done something and probably gotten as far as flight test, but for whatever reason, it didn't progress any further. I bet someone reading this post could share more. ;-)

Does anyone remember the early/mid 80's chatter in Aviation Week about what turned out to be the F-117? They published little snippets on and off for years, and one day (late 80's) the whole program became public. The reality is people can't keep secrets, and little things leak out.

One day, we'll hear the real story about Aurora.
 
steingar said:
Why? The SR71 was designed to outrun missiles. We can get awesome intelligence from satellites, what is this actually there for?
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I am figuring they may know when the satellite is coming or is overhead and can hide what the don't want prying eyes to see... spy plane or drone can just appear where it is needed for that "gotcha" moment..
 
Is it an oversized drone ,or a true aircraft?
 
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