Lockheed Martin's New Mach-6 Spy Plane

Anyone Hear about this:

An SR-72?

Lockheed Martin's New Mach-6 Spy Plane

By Vago Muradian

Ten years after the U.S. Air Force retired the SR-71 spy plane, Lockheed Martin's legendary Skunk Works appears back at work developing a new Mach-6 reconnaissance plane, sources said.

The Air Force has awarded Lockheed's Advanced Development Projects arm a top-secret contract to develop a stealthy 4,000-mph plane capable of flying to altitudes of about 100,000 feet, with transcontinental range. The plan is to debut the craft around 2020.

The new jet--being referred to by some as the SR-72--is likely to be unmanned and, while intended for reconnaissance, it could eventually trade its sensors for weapons.

*snip*

The new aircraft would offer a combination of speed, altitude and stealth that could make it virtually impervious to ground-based missiles, sources said. Even the SR-71 is said to have evaded hundreds of missiles fired at it during its long career, although some aircraft sustained minor damage.

www.defensenews.com...

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[edit on 21-6-2007 by DontTreadOnMe]