(Luft) Lockheed Martin SR-72

[Schneemann]

Bislang, dies nun sehr vorsichtig ausgedrückt meinerseits, ein recht spekulatives Thema. Es findet sich generell recht wenig über dieses "Ding".

Aber nach dem gegenwärtigen Stand besteht zumindest die Möglichkeit, dass der Nachfolger der legendären Lockheed SR-71 noch in diesem Jahrzehnt flügge wird. Über den "Son of Blackbird" wird leider wenig in einschlägigen Quellen berichtet (wen wundert es?), ich erspare sie euch mal hier, aber wenn die freie Welt Glück haben sollte (und diese Formulierung meine ich durchaus ernst), dann geht dieses supersonische Mach-5-UAV - um ein solches soll es sich angeblich handeln gemäß Aviation Week & Space Technology - noch ab 2025 in die Prototypen-Phase...

Eine alte (und sehr spekulative) Meldung - von 2017:

Lockheed Confirms Secretive SR-72 Hypersonic Plane Will Be Made

On June 7, Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs (ADP), also known as Skunk Works, revealed new information about their hypersonic technologies. Specifically, they discussed the successor to the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft: the SR-72, a strike and reconnaissance aircraft. The SR-72 tops Mach 6, and is currently in development within the advanced aircraft-development division. According to Lockheed Martin’s statements to Aviation Week, hypersonic technologies, including a combined cycle propulsion system that blends a rocket engine and a supersonic jet engine, are sufficiently advanced to allow the planned SR-72 project to begin. [...] Lockheed believes they’ll be flying an FRV in the early 2020s, while the SR-72 will probably be airborne by 2030. As more details and information about the first flights are revealed, we should see more of the fascinating details of the SR-72.

https://futurism.com/lockheed-confirms-s...ll-be-made

Schneemann

[Schneemann]

Alles mal wieder unter Vorbehalt...

US’ ‘Top Secret’ Hypersonic Weapons Program Could Unleash ‘Mayhem’ On Enemies With Different Payloads

New details on the US Air Force’s highly secretive Mayhem hypersonic air vehicle program have come to light. Reports suggest that it will provide a modular experimental design that can be configured to carry one of two different kinds of payloads for strike missions, or a sensor package to enable it to conduct “responsive” intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, or ISR, sorties.

According to defense writer Joseph Trevithick, Mayhem was previously believed to be “focused, at least in part, on acquiring testbeds to support work on advanced high-speed jet engines like the ones that have reportedly been in development for proposed hypersonic aircraft such as Lockheed Martin’s SR-72”. The new information about Mayhem was contained in a contract document that the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) posted online on December 14, 2021.

https://eurasiantimes.com/us-top-secret-...sh-mayhem/

Schneemann

[Schneemann]

Spekulationen über einen Cameo-Auftritt der SR-72...

Does Lockheed Martin's stealthy SR-72 Darkstar spy plane have a cameo in 'Top Gun: Maverick'?

Lockheed Martin’s hypersonic SR-72 Darkstar could fly by 2023, or perhaps on the silver screen next month! [...] Most aviation aficionados are quite familiar with the SR-71 Blackbird, Lockheed’s Cold War-era spy plane that set speed and altitude records for decades streaking across the skies at 80,000 feet at Mach 3, showcasing its insane capabilities with rare exotic alloys and futuristic design.

Now the wild blue yonder may soon to get a bit wilder with Lockheed Martin’s spiritual successor in the SR-72 Darkstar, a hypersonic jet intended to provide superior air reconnaissance for the Air Force later this decade or next. [...] The so-called "Son of Blackbird's" developmental program has been cloaked in secrecy since whispers of its genesis swirled around the aviation industry 10 years ago. This unpiloted or semi-autonomous high altitude vehicle will employ a special hypersonic propulsion system to enable the wicked-looking plane to be deployed as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. [...] The debut testing phase of the SR-72 Darkstar is purported to be in late 2023, and if approved for an official production run it wouldn’t join the Air Force's arsenal until the 2030s.

https://www.space.com/hypersonic-sr-72-d...n-maverick

Und - das findet man auch im Beitrag - als Matchbox-Modell gibt es sie wohl schon...

Schneemann

[Nightwatch]

Die haben seit dem Blackbird keinen einzigen Fastmover deklassifiziert und werden jetzt sicher nicht im Rahmen eines mittlerweile um Jahre verzögerten Filmwerks damit anfangen.