sorry i really don't have a reliable source....i haven't been able to find anything on the web about this. i was recently told by a coworker who was formerly attached to a ONI spec ops tactics & strategies dept.(don't quote me on that one) when he served this country a few years back. he told me something in regards to a blackbird being reconfigured for hypersonic flight with the use of scram jets... i might be in the wrong thread dept but i'm sure the mods will help me out with that one.now this friend of mine, informs me that this plane conducted a successful flight from coast to coast in just under 20 minutes....if anyone has any comments or ideals....please reply.... i'm trying to put out some feelers!

Ya know, I don't know anything about the SR-71 project, but I can tell you this. I have a friend who is in the Air Force as a mechanic. (I'm sure that's not the technical term ) He's out of the country right now, but he was detached to a base in CA. They needed a part for a plane and the only one was somewhere on the east coast. After placing the order for it, it was at their base and being installed in 45 minutes.

This guy isn't one to bs..he also told me that they blacked out the runway while the plane landed. I have no idea what plane it was, but obviously it was faster than anything I've heard of

Sure they could slap some scramjets onto an old airframe like the Blackbird, but it has too many limitations, imo.

Creating an entirely new airframe for the new propulsion system is a lot better route to take.

To Midnight
I do feel your story could be totally true, and I am pretty certain that the military does have access to highly advanced technology.

I suppose bringing up the Aurora or TR-3B would fit nicely into this incident. Of course, the aircraft may not be named either of those names, but the airframe is most likely very similar. As would be the propulsion capabilities.

I had a friend in the AF who worked as a mechanic on various , "non-official" aircraft. He informed me years ago that many aircraft in the US arsenal have "official" operational statistics, and "actual" stats. He told me long ago that the SR 71 can actually peak at around Mach 7 to 8 as opposed to the official mach 3.5. He mentioned that the Plane got so hot that when it landed it was all wobbly and soft. He added that it took hours for the plane to cool down enough to touch. If scramjets claim to go around mach 9-10 I suspect they can go considerably faster.

[edit on 4-8-2009 by dashen]

[edit on 4-8-2009 by dashen]

The Blackbird (A-12, YF-12A, SR-71) had a design cruise speed of Mach 3.2 or approximately 2,100 mph. It would cruise a little faster or slower depending on outside air temperature because it was limited by structural heating factors and compressor inlet temperature (CIT) limitations.

In 1991, NASA and Lockheed engineers studied the possibility of extending the Mach number capability of the SR-71 to speeds from Mach 3.3 to as much as Mach 3.8 (the maximum potential of the J58 engine with an extensively modified inlet). There were thermal (structural) concerns at speeds of Mach 3.5 and above. Engine CIT was predicted to be marginal at Mach 3.4 and virtually all engine parameters were unacceptable beyond Mach 3.5. Ultimately the Mach extension modifications were not recommended due to the low benefit/cost ratio.

Fastest known Blackbird flights:
YF-12A (60-6936), Mach 3.14 (2,070 mph), 1 May 1965
A-12 (60-6928), Mach 3.29 (2,171 mph), 8 May 1965
SR-71A (61-7972), Mach 3.32 (2,193 mph), 27 July 1976

According to SR-71 pilot Richard Graham: "The design Mach number of the SR-71 is 3.2 Mach. When authorized by the Commander, speeds up to Mach 3.3 may be flown if the CIT limit of 427 degrees C. is not exceeded. I have heard of crews reaching 3.5 Mach inadvertently, but that is the absolute maximum I am aware of."

No Blackbirds were ever equipped with a scramjet. In fact, scramjet technology is still in its infancy. Ground tests have provided some useful data and there have been successful flight demonstrations with the X-43A. In the near term, the Air Force is planning to test a scramjet on the X-51A - running it for about five minutes at Mach 6.

I think your deeply reaching on the idea of the SR71 set up with scram systems. Not to knock you in anyway.
BUT if you look at the overall system of the SR71. Very out dated.
You cant just plug SCRAM jet systems into the SR71 & fly away.
BUT... there is this common thought...

IF you think about when the SR71 was pulled from service (1999 last common knowledge flight of the SR71 by NASA) & "MAYBE" then put it into black ops budget for a "refit" we would just know start seeing this sort of massive upgrade out on mission. This would make the 3rd refit IF such a thing occured with a much smaller fleet say only 6 jets. Vise the 32 known SR71's.
But money wise... that sort of upgrade just gets too deep in $$$$.


Now looking at the current NASA X-43A the airframe has very little in common with the SR71. Not saying its the "only idea" of a SCRAM but looking at history, given the demands that would be required for SCRAM your looking at a program thats not going to go to far left or right of what works when it comes to over all design. I think (my thoughts) that given the stress & heat involed in such a airframe once you get it right you dont have to many "points" to explore before you have a "fail" in system.

Now onto "when things are tested" actul information released "top speeds" you'll see a history of very understated numbers.
Rarely are we ( the public) are allowed to this sort of info till a serious upgrade is in the works or already on a PROVEN working platform.

As to things getting ship cross country within minutes. Usually a platform that is parts sensitive will "pre-ship support" if its needed. Plus most current platforms are "cross part systems" IE one part will fit with different jets.
So its never that hard to find a part if need be.

Not to down play any SCRAM jet ideas... one can hope.

One of the last SR 71s in service was used to test small scram-jet engines.

They mounted the test scram-jets under the air frame and because you have to get up above mach 2 to start a scram-jet they used the old SR71 as a mother aircraft.

No Sr-71 publicly ever flew with a scramjet. Linear Aerospike Rocket Engine was the closest that I can think of.

[edit on 5/8/2009 by C0bzz]

No SR-71 ever had scramjets "mounted under the airframe" (or anywhere else) and the linear aerospike never actually underwent a "hot fire" test.

The last Sr-71 flight took place in October 1999 at the Edwards AFB air show and open house. All SR-71s have been retired to museum display and all spare parts disposed of. Some engines and other pieces of equipment were saved for museums but most of the spare parts, materials, and equipment were fed into an industrial shredder and destroyed.