SR-72 Darkstar: The Top Gun Mach 10 Plane Might Be Real
Story by Maya Carlin • Yesterday 6:17 PM
SR-72 Artist Rendering. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
During Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise hit Mach 10 in the SR-72 Darkstar. That plane might even up being real in some format:
Aviation buffs and military experts alike revere the unprecedented capabilities of an airframe produced more than forty-five years ago. As of 2022, the SR-71 Blackbird holds the world record it set in 1976 as the fastest manned-airframe on the planet. The newer and fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and F-22 Raptor can’t even claim this achievement. This long-retired fighter may finally meet its match, however, with its potential successor the SR-72.
As Lockheed Martin’s Mach 6.0 Blackbird 2.0, the “Darkstar” may just be a theory today but may actually take to the skies over the next decade.
When the blockbuster Tom Cruise film Top Gun: Maverick took to the screens last year, manufacturing giant Lockheed Martin hinted that the Darkstar SR-72 may already be in the works. When the hit picked up six Academy Award nominations, Lockheed congratulated those involved with Top Gun on Twitter, notably adding that “The SR-71 Blackbird is still the fastest acknowledged crewed air-breathing jet aircraft.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/sr-72-darkstar-the-top-gun-mach-10-plane-might-be-real/ar-AA1c5n6R?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=fceea3dc79fa4e8389aaf002a03e937f&ei=57
