Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs, better known as Skunk Works, might be further along in the development process for the SR-72 than it has let on. A proposed hypersonic reconnaissance and strike aircraft, the SR-72 would serve as a replacement for the famed SR-71 Blackbird, which was retired by the Air Force back in 1998. In June, Lockheed announced early progress on the program, and now a source told Aviation Week that they spotted a small demonstrator aircraft landing at Skunk Works facilities in Palmdale, California, possibly associated with early tests for the unmanned SR-72 program.

The reported sighting corresponds with announcements from Lockheed regarding progress in hypersonic aircraft research. The aerospace firm previously reported work on a combined-cycle engine that uses elements of both a turbine and a scramjet to achieve hypersonic speeds, something Lockheed Martin tested with partner Aerojet Rocketdyne from 2013 to 2017. Two combined-cycle engines are planned to power the SR-72, which is designed to be about the same size of the SR-71 and could achieve first flight in the late 2020s.

Lockheed Martin

An optionally piloted flight research vehicle (FRV) is also in the works to flight test elements of the SR-72 design. The FRV will be about the size of an F-22 and use a single combined-cycle engine for propulsion. Development of the FRV is expected to begin next year and first flights could occur as soon as 2020. Leading up to the FRV, Lockheed could be conducting ground and flight tests on even smaller demonstrators, which might explain the small aircraft that was reportedly spotted landing at Lockheed Martin facilities in California.

From Aviation Week:

According to information provided to Aviation Week, one such technology demonstrator, believed to be an unmanned subscale aircraft, was observed flying into the U.S. Air Force's Plant 42 at Palmdale, where Skunk Works is headquartered. The vehicle, which was noted landing in the early hours at an unspecified date in late July, was seen with two T-38 escorts. Lockheed Martin declined to comment directly on the sighting.

In addition to the sighting, Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president of aeronautics at Lockheed Martin, alluded to the SR-72 program at this week's SAE International Aerotech Congress and Exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas. "Although I can't go into specifics, let us just say the Skunk Works team in Palmdale, California, is doubling down on our commitment to speed," he said, as reported byAviation Week. Carvalho went on to say, "Hypersonics is like stealth. It is a disruptive technology and will enable various platforms to operate at two to three times the speed of the Blackbird... Security classification guidance will only allow us to say the speed is greater than Mach 5."

With classified military aircraft development, it has historically been the case that systems and flight testing begin years before details of the program are made public. Such was the case with the original SR-71, as well as the F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit stealth aircraft. The fact that Skunk Works is letting some information slip about the SR-72 program, combined with the possible subscale demonstrator sighting in Palmdale, suggests the Blackbird's hypersonic successor could only be a matter of time.

Source: Aviation Week

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