The US developed a hypersonic spy plane

The company Lockheed Martin has begun work on creating a hypersonic spy plane Blackbird SR-72, the receiver known Blackbird SR-71. Unmanned SR-72 will be equipped with an engine that combines the turbine and jet engine to reach the maximum speed 6 Mach, that is about 5800 km / h.

Like its predecessor, SR-72, is designed for high-altitude reconnaissance, but can also be equipped with the necessary weapons systems.
The company Lockheed Martin plans to provide a sample of the finished aircraft in 2030 year.

The new engine for the SR-72 is being developed at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works R&D center in California, which designed and built the original Blackbird SR-71 aircraft. The Blackbird SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft first flew in 1964 and was the main unit of the United States Air Force for reconnaissance and surveillance until 1998. He possessed characteristics that allowed him to fly at altitudes up to 24000 meters at speeds up to 3 Mach.

The plane will be able to overcome the distance

5500 kilometers from New York to London in less than an hour

The new spy plane SR-72, will be able to fly at the same height as that of its predecessor, but with much greater speed. At the maximum flight speed equal 6 Mach, the aircraft will be able to overcome the distance 5500 kilometers from New York to London in less than an hour.

Observation of the particular area on the Earth's surface using satellites has certain drawbacks, one of which is the inability to quickly change portions or objects for observation. To do this, you must move the satellite into a new orbit that takes some time and is not always possible.

On the other hand the collection of information using the SR-72 can be produced in a short period of time and the enemy will not be able to respond and to take protective action.

For the development of SR-72, the company Lockheed Martin intends to use the technology applied in the construction of hypersonic aircraft Falcon HTV-2. In test flights HTV-2 20 Mach was able to achieve the speed, while the temperature of the body surface reaches 1927 * C.

To fly with the speed of 6 Mach, SR-72 will be equipped with an engine that works like a normal jet engine at a set rate to 3 Mach, with a further increase in speed, the mode in which it begins to work as a ramjet engine to maximum speed.

The company Lockheed Martin conducts extensive research to overcome the problems encountered when creating the plane SR-72, the most important of which is to find solutions to reduce the high temperature heating of the fuselage and hope to successfully perform the contract strictly on time.

Avia.pro