A not-so-secret top secret contract has been issued by the U.S. Air Force for work on a replacement for the SR-71 high-altitude, supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. The new aircraft, informally referred to as the SR-72, will apparently be unmanned, and use new high-altitude jet engines that the air force has been working on for some time.
The SR-72 is supposed to be capable of twice the range, and greater speed than the SR-71, and at an altitude of 100,000 feet or higher. A high-speed, high-altitude UAV like that would be a good replacement for spy satellites lost to anti-satellite weapons.
Aviation Leak sez Mach 6.5 but won't see it until 2020. |