SR-72 Confirmed: Mach 6 Project Blackswift , page 13

reply to post by bios

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Right which is why I sorta went on to say.

But if your working on building a secret bomber prototype in the black project with a 2 billion contact you may be secure enough to let this appear to slip

But I don't know where exactly I was going with the original sentence.

Here is a link about further experiments regarding hypersonic flight which are related to the SR-71's replacement!

"Our primary purpose is to build vehicles eventually where you can launch payloads to space using an air-breathing propulsion system," he said. "If you can do that, your vehicles can be much smaller, they can be more flexible."

Is there already an SR-72 protype operating within our skies though... remains a mystery.

UPDATE!

Could congress be saying no to the hypersonic marvel?

Or was this staged so we'd think the project was dead!

article

Originally posted by Scramjet76
UPDATE!

Could congress be saying no to the hypersonic marvel?

Or was this staged so we'd think the project was dead!

article

This is the way projects go "black"; the program is cancelled after a surreptitious spinoff and that's what happened here.

It's all smoke and mirrors - slight of hand, the decoy gets cancelled, the real one goes deep black.
The real Blackswift went into an Special Access Program (SAP) right before Darpa put the Blackswift up on the bidding block.
That was in March of this year (2008).

The difference between the real one, now a "black" project and the "official" one or "white" project is:

"White" or Official version
Powerplant: pulse/scramjet hybrid (unproven, intentionally a ridiculous endeavor)
Airframe: HTV-3 research platform
Development location: Skunkworks, Langley & WPAFB
1st flight: 2012 or maybe never...
Speed: M8 +

"Black" version, now an SAP
Powerplant: turbo/ramjet hybrid (a la - the SR-71's P&W J-58, been there, done that)
Airframe: HTV-3X Rcce & Strike platform
Development location: Groom Lake, WPAFB
1st flight 2009-10
Speed: M6



You don't have to believe me or my sources, but mark my words and remember them for later, this thing is real and totally funded.




[edit on 9-17-2008 by intelgurl]

Intelgurl,

Any information on the LO characteristics of the SR-72? It appears from some of the rough photgraphs and wind tunnel models that this little jewel is highly stealth (which makes sense, of course). My interest is piqued by the type of stealth material that they are covering it with. I read somewhere where the 71 reached temperatures of 1000 F or higher along the leading edges.

For thermal experiments, this can produce heat soak temperatures of over 600 degrees (F).

SR-71 info

I'm not completely sure what the critical failure temp on the radar-absorbant material is.... but I read (again somewhere.. sorry I can't be more helpful nor can I find a link) that that material's critical temp is around 1200 F.

I also wonder about the flex strength of the RAM during high speed ops. We know that the SR-71 flexed a great deal as it heated up (due to its titanium structure). Is there anything you can tell us about this?

Sorry, I know these are somewhat technical questions.. and maybe classified, but a sense of how they overcame these problems might give us an idea of how capable the aircraft actually is.

Originally posted by intelgurl

Originally posted by A TRUE AMERICAN
If the SR-72 is a Mach 6 UCVA, then what was picked up by US weather satellites leaving Groom Lake? It traveled across the US, across the Atlantic, across Russia and into China at Mach 10.

I have heard about that incident but was unable to find any links. As I understand it Russia actually filed a complaint through the US Embassy in Moscow regarding the incident.

The US claimed ignorance, sometimes I wonder if the people of ATS are more savvy than global politicians...

[edit on 9-20-2008 by intelgurl]

Here you go. The contrail picture is at 1:15 (in my hypersonic thread I even found the company that has an engine that makes this very specific contrail) and Nick Cook has the satellite image on a screen at 1:40.



[edit on 21-9-2008 by Dan Tanna]

reply to post by intelgurl

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Powerplant: pulse/scramjet hybrid (unproven, intentionally a ridiculous endeavor)

Haha probably true...

I'm no military genius... but I would guess they would develop a successor to the SR-71.

Because... bottom line...

A) The SR-71 performed well while in service.
B) There is still a need for such a machine.

Thanks for the update intelgurl!

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