<\/span><\/h4>\nOne thing about the SR-72 that’s different from many aircraft today is that it is said to be unmanned. Unmanned aircraft are becoming much more mainstream nowadays but that doesn’t make the SR-72 any less special. What makes the “Son of Blackbird” different from say, an MQ-1 Predator or any other drone is that it’s fast.\u00a0Really fast.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/span>Speed:<\/span><\/h4>\nAnother thing I find quite interesting about the supposed SR-72 is that its main goal is to achieve sustained hypersonic speeds. This would be the first time a hypersonic aircraft has flown since the days of the X-15. What makes the SR-72 different from the X-15 however, is that the SR-72 is not only meant to go fast, but also\u00a0far.\u00a0<\/em>One key aspect of any reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft is that they need to go far away and make it back home. The SR-71 had an impressive range of 3000 miles but the SR-72 supposedly will reach a whopping <\/em>range of 14000 miles! The engine that Lockheed and Aerojet have spent so much time developing is the heart and soul of this aircrafts performance. Without its special propulsion system, these numbers wouldn’t be possible.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/span>Engine:<\/span><\/h4>\nSomething that Lockheed Martin made very clear is that they wanted the SR-72 to be hypersonic, but they did not want the aircraft to have multiple, separate engine systems. The solution that Lockheed and Aerojet came up with is known as a TBCC system. TBCC stands for: Turbine-Based Combined Cycle system. In layman’s terms, this means that the engine would have the ability to transform from a turbojet engine into a scramjet engine by diverting the engines intake flow at the correct time. So in a sense, the SR-72 would still be using two engines, but at the same time it wouldn’t. It’s complicated. Either way, this was Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne’s solution to the problem. Another interesting thing to note about the SR-72s engine is the use of 3d printing technologies to incorporate an internal cooling system that otherwise would be nearly impossible to produce.<\/p>\n
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<\/span>Payload:<\/span><\/h4>\nPerhaps the most intriguing part about the SR-72’s design is the fact that it is intended to be a multi-role aircraft! The SR-71 dabbled a bit in this arena with the development of the YF-12 interceptor, but the design never really took off. Not only is the SR-72 supposed to be a reconnaissance aircraft, but supposedly it will also be a hypersonic missile delivery system. It’s pretty much a missile carrying more missiles! At the moment there is no specific payload that the SR-72 would carry, but it’s still quite interesting as it is.<\/p>\n
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<\/span>Theories:<\/span><\/h3>\nI’m not much of a conspiracy theorist. In fact I don’t consider myself one at all. I do however, think that the SR-72 has already been produced and is currently flying in the skies above us. If it’s not the SR-72, then it must be something else. This belief is not without reason either.<\/p>\n
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<\/span>Denials:<\/span><\/h4>\nAside from this alleged plane’s history and its supposed design, something interesting to note is that Skunkworks has denied speculation about the SR-72 multiple times. The first time this occurred was in 2018 when Lockheed Martin publicly stated that no SR-72 had been produced and that it was still in the development process. Another thing Lockheed Martin stated in 2018 is that the first prototype of this aircraft would fly in 2025 and it\u00a0would\u00a0<\/em>carry hypersonic missiles. I am in no way saying that Lockheed Skunkworks is lying, But if I their past history with covering up classified aircraft says anything, it’s that they aren’t necessarily the most reliable source out there. It almost seems as if they’re hiding it in plain sight. But I digress.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/span>What Has The USAF Been Doing For The Past 20+ Years?:<\/span><\/h4>\nIn my opinion, the most damning evidence for the existence of the SR-72 is the fact that without it, the USAF would have been flying blind for 20+ years. With the retirement of the SR-71 in 1999, the United States Air Force was left with no reconnaissance aircraft and thus, would have an extreme lack of international intelligence. In a modern day war theater this is unacceptable. But why? With advancements in satellight imaging technology, why would the USAF need an aircraft? The main advantage that spy-planes have over satellights is flexibility. Satellights can not change course and can really only take photos. Spy-planes can alter their course at any time, take higher quality images and video, collect different types of data, and can cover different areas much more efficiently. To think that the United States Air Force has been going 20 plus years without any sort of reconnaissance aircraft in service is ridiculous. Not only would the SR-72 serve as a recon aircraft, but also a long-range strike platform. This is why I believe that the United States has been flying the SR-72 for awhile now. If it’s not the SR-72, then it must be something else because there is no way the United States would shoot themselves in the foot by retiring the SR-71 unless they had something to replace it.<\/p>\n
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