Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Works has revealed plans for a new hypersonic spy plane that would be capable of flying at Mach 6, making it the fastest airplane ever and obviating the need for stealth technology because nothing on the planet would be capable of catching it.
Designed as a replacement for the super-speedy SR-71 Blackbird, Lockheed’s SR-72 unmanned spy plane was revealed in an exclusive cover story in the current issue of Aviation Week. The story notes that the “Son of Blackbird” would achieve speeds twice as fast as the SR-71 using a new scramjet engine designed in partnership with Aerojet Rocketdyne.
