The Skunk Works SR-72 design, a hypersonic unmanned aircraft developed for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions at speeds up to Mach 6. The aircraft armed with hypersonic missiles could penetrate denied airspace and strike any location across a continent in less than an hour. Lockheed Martin is ready to embark on the development of the SR-72 that could enter service with the US Air Force in 2030.

The proposed drone is positioned as the follow-on to the air forces’ strategic reconnaissance aircraft, the Mach 3 SR-71 ‘BlackBird’, developed by the legendary designer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, the Chief Designer of the Lockheed Skunk Works in the early 1960s. Envisioned as an unmanned aircraft, the SR-72 would fly at speeds up to Mach 6. At this speed, the aircraft would be so fast that an adversary would have no time to react or hide.

The SR-72 that has been dubbed “Son of Blackbird,” and integrated engine and airframe that is optimised at the system level for high performance and affordability. Lockheed Martin is ready to embark on the development of the new hypersonic drone. The SR-72’s design incorporates lessons learned from the HTV-2, which flew to a top speed of Mach 20, or 20,800 kmph, with a surface temperature of 3,500°F.

SR-72 is not the first hypersonic Skunk Works aircraft. In partnership with the DARPA, engineers developed the rocketlaunched Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2). The HTV-2 research and development project was designed to collect data on three technical challenges of hypersonic flight: aerodynamics; aero-thermal effects; guidance, navigation and control.