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And now...the SR-72

RAMA

RAMA

Admiral
Admiral
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/11/lockheed-martin-sr-72/

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_11_01_2013_p0-632731.xml&p=1

Cool plane...mach 6 speed, the successor to the SR-71, butis it really necessary at this point? The AIr Force says this:
Guided by the U.S. Air Force’s long-term hypersonic road map, the SR-72 is designed to fill what are perceived by defense planners as growing gaps in coverage of fast-reaction intelligence by the plethora of satellites, subsonic manned and unmanned platforms meant to replace the SR-71. Potentially dangerous and increasingly mobile threats are emerging in areas of denied or contested airspace, in countries with sophisticated air defenses and detailed knowledge of satellite movements.


A vehicle penetrating at high altitude and Mach 6, a speed viewed by Lockheed Martin as the “sweet spot” for practical air-breathing hypersonics, is expected to survive where even stealthy, advanced subsonic or supersonic aircraft and unmanned vehicles might not. Moreover, an armed ISR platform would also have the ability to strike targets before they could hide.
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The article says Lockheed might have a demonstrator model working in ten years. It also said it might enter service in 2030. The plane doesn't exist yet, and won't for over ten years, if ever.
 
Judging by what they've unveiled, isn't this basically Lockheed saying "Wouldn't it be cool if we could build this, wink wink Congress"?
 
Looks appropriately futuristic and fast but nothing can beat the Blackbird when it comes to sheer coolness.
 
The comments on the Wired article are pretty brutal, and I would echo some of them, such as this being just a pitch to the Air Force. It's probably not as advanced as the Mach 5 Skylon/Sabre/Scimitar concepts the British are rendering. The real breakthrough will come when someone renders a plane cruising at Mach 8.
 
I'm just waiting for the model kit to come out so our friend John Payne (aka Forbin) can kitbash it into a Star Trek shuttle.
 
FPAlpha said:
Looks appropriately futuristic and fast but nothing can beat the Blackbird when it comes to sheer coolness.
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Yeah, the SR-71 is one sexy ship. It's nice when you can see it in person and appreciate just how massive and sleek the thing is.
 
So...a company that can't even bring the JSF in at a reasonable budget and on time is promising to give us a hypersonic aircraft demonstrator by 2023 and a flyable aircraft by 2030? I mean, yes, Congress critters are dumb, and Tea Party critters are particularly so but I don't think they're THAT dumb.
 
Crazy Eddie said:
Tiberius said:
The military budget of the USA is beyond ridiculous.
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Why do you hate freedom?:rofl:
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Smart arse lol

I heard once that the military spending of the USA is equal to the combined military spending for the next three highest spending countries (could be wrong though). Seriously, what do they need all that for? It's like they have a cannon to kill a fly, but they always want a bigger cannon anyway. What is it with the USA's obsession with guns?
 
Tiberius said:
Crazy Eddie said:
Tiberius said:
The military budget of the USA is beyond ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Why do you hate freedom?:rofl:
Click to expand...

Smart arse lol

I heard once that the military spending of the USA is equal to the combined military spending for the next three highest spending countries (could be wrong though). Seriously, what do they need all that for? It's like they have a cannon to kill a fly, but they always want a bigger cannon anyway. What is it with the USA's obsession with guns?
Click to expand...

Actually, the US military budget is equal to the military spending of the next eleven highest spending countries (China, Russia, UK, Japan, France, Saudia Arabia, India, Germany, Italy, Brazil, and South Korea), contributing 39% of the total global military expenditure:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures

The US military budget has almost three times the size of China's and Russia's military budget combined. (Which is why the U.S. has ten aircraft carriers, while China and Russia each have a single one).
 
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CorporalCaptain said:
The article says Lockheed might have a demonstrator model working in ten years. It also said it might enter service in 2030. The plane doesn't exist yet, and won't for over ten years, if ever.
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Which really means the SkunkWorks probably has the plane under construction and nearly ready to fly. They never confirm the existence of aircraft until they are either in service or nearly obsolete...
 
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