SR-72: The Hypersonic Spy Plane That Could Change Everything?
Story by Kris Osborn • Yesterday 9:48 AM
SR-72: What should we make of the rumors? As the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft ever to exist, the SR-71 spy plane has forever emblazoned itself upon any record of aviation history as a sleek-looking, high-altitude, stealthy aircraft which has made a difference for the Pentagon.
The aircraft, which had several retirements with the most recent being 1998, goes back many years to the 1960s, a development which suggests early sophistication among engineers thinking about building low-observability platforms.
Perhaps the aircraft was arguably ahead of its time, as it was conceived of and crafted by Lockheed Martin’s famous Skunk Works division.
The SR-71s fuselage does indeed look stealthy, as it is rounded with a blended fuselage and slightly curved wing formations devoid of sharp angles. As something that first flew in 1964, the aircraft features some impressive technologies, according to a Lockheed Martin essay called “Creating the Blackbird” which points to the aircraft’s side-looking radar, signals intelligence and long-range electro-optical cameras. Specs for the aircraft list it as being capable of flying Mach 3 and reaching altitudes of 85,000 feet. A PBS documentary in 2006 explained that the historic Blackbird simply used its unparalleled speed to essentially outrun ground-based radar and air defenses.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/sr-72-the-hypersonic-spy-plane-that-could-change-everything/ar-AA19eABX?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=45f9d0955fbc4792b21748a7d5899fe8&ei=23
