Mach 6 SR-72 Darkstar: America’s Next Fighter Jet?
Key Points - The SR-72 "Darkstar," Lockheed Martin's anticipated successor to the SR-71 Blackbird, is designed for uncrewed Mach 5+ hypersonic flight, focusing on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and potentially as a launch platform for hypersonic strike weapons.
-Its revolutionary Turbine-Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) engine, merging turbofan and scramjet technologies, is key to this extreme speed, aimed at penetrating advanced air defenses.
-While the "Darkstar" mockup in Top Gun: Maverick (designed with Skunk Works input) fueled public imagination and reportedly even Chinese satellite interest, the real SR-72 is definitively not a fighter jet; its purpose is high-speed penetration for ISR and strike.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/mach-6-sr-72-darkstar-america-s-next-fighter-jet/ar-AA1EPV85?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=64fa996a24374a158e56487b57dc5b91&ei=155
