September 17, 2021
Can the SR-72 Live Up to the SR-71's Legacy?
The SR-71 was vital to collecting intelligence on enemy activities and movement. How might the SR-72 help fill the same role today?
by Peter Suciu
Key point:
It was over twenty years ago the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was retired by the United States Air Force, and while surveillance satellites can provide that eye in the sky for intelligence gathering there is still a need for such high flying, ultra-fast aircraft.
Such a platform would complement other manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), providing flexibility in how intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) is gathered.
This first appeared earlier and is being reposted due to reader interest.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/can-sr-72-live-sr-71s-legacy-194045
