The world of aeronautics is waiting for a revolutionary jump, with the release planned by Lockheed Martin of its SR-72 “Darkstar”, a hypersonic aircraft designed to break all speed records and change the concept of air missions. Powered by the legendary heritage of the SR-71 Blackbird, the SR-72 wants to lift extra-hypersonic speeds to Mach 6.0, more than doubling the velocity of its flying predecessor.
First fielded more than five decades ago, the SR-71 Blackbird still holds unmatched speed and altitude performance, with an unprecedented Mach 3.2 and 85,000 feet. After being retired in the late 1990s, its replacement, the SR-72, is said to restore and even improve on those capabilities. The SR-72, otherwise called the “Son of Blackbird,” has been under development since 2007 under the leadership of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works team.
The development of the SR-72 has been highly classified, and its exposure in the movie Top Gun has piqued public interest and speculation. The aircraft is slated to be made with advanced materials that will be able to withstand extreme temperatures produced during hypersonic speeds. Engineers are looking at high-performance composites like ceramics, carbon, and metal mixes to fortify the airframe’s integrity.
Lockheed Martin had teamed up with Aerojet Rocketdyne for the development of a new engine for the SR-72, based on the now-canceled HTV-3X project. The goal is to have an engine that can continue running efficiently at speeds above Mach 5.0. Such a mode of flying needs innovative solutions to manage the huge amount of heat and stress on the airframe.
It’s not just speed; the SR-72 will also come equipped with hypersonic missiles, and the Air Force will have the most powerful strike force in history. The program manager said that with a hypersonic plane carrying hypersonic missiles, “any defenses would be penetrated and if need be, any target in the world reached in an hour.” The capability to do this would be of special interest in times of increasing tension between the great powers.
The long-anticipated first flight of the SR-72 in 2025 will be among the magic moments of aviation history. While the world is waiting, the SR-72 serves as a proud statement about human ingenuity and the insatiable thirst of humankind for advancement in technology. The “Son of Blackbird” is not an airplane but a torch lighting up a new chapter in the story of human flight: where the sky was not a limit but just the beginning.