# Lockheed wants to build a mach 6 SR-72 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 27, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352 "2016-03-27T14:05:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/1 "2016-03-27T14:05:47Z")
Unfortunately unmanned. I doubt it will happen as it just doesn’t seem to have a role that can’t be fulfilled cheaper by satellites and stealth drones. Still “it can take off from California and be over north korea in and hour and half”… Woah! > **[Just Because Lockheed Says They Can Build A Mach 6 Spy Plane Doesn't Mean We...](https://jalopnik.com/just-because-lockheed-says-they-can-build-a-mach-6-jet-1765367071)** > > Extreme speed is once again becoming a prized quality at the Pentagon after a two decade long hiatus following the retirement of the SR-71 Blackbird. Now Lockheed says it can build 3,800 MPH proof-of-concept jet in just a couple of years time, an... They’re saying if it got funded could be airborne by 2018 which is a fairly impressive timeline for such a cutting edge plane. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/2 "2016-03-27T14:09:09Z")
This story broke about a year ago. Just Lockheed trolling for tax dollars. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/3 "2016-03-27T14:12:08Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > This story broke about a year ago. Just Lockheed trolling for tax dollars. Yes but I believe they’ve released more details on how the hybrid engine would work and the potential development schedule . ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/4 "2016-03-27T14:23:44Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Still “it can take off from California and be over north korea in and hour and half”… Woah! But can it slow down enough to do anything useful once it gets there? A conventional airplane can take off from South Korea and be over the North in _minutes_. And we’ve already paid for it. Yes, this is a technology development program being sold as an operational one just to get funded. Not at all a new corporate strategy, not at all, and not even something criticism-worthy. It’s just how the game is played. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/5 "2016-03-27T14:39:53Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Yes but I believe they’ve released more details on how the hybrid engine would work and the potential development schedule . They’re building a Mach 6 _Prius_? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/6 "2016-03-27T16:38:06Z")
When a defense contractor announces a vastly extravagant program nobody, anywhere asked for, I get suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/7 "2016-03-28T00:29:33Z")
Lockheed lost all credibility when it joined with Boeing to form [United Launch Alliance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Launch_Alliance) which sucks money from DOD to buy Russian rocket engines to build Atlas and Atlas-era rockets to launch military payloads at prices several times Space-X’s price. - OR - What **LSLGuy** said. Trolling for more money ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/8 "2016-03-28T01:10:49Z")
Is anyone thinking this plane they’re “trying to build” is the “Aurora” they presumably already have? [https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;\_ylt=A0LEVitChPhW15AAclsnnIlQ;\_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTY4NwRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1tb3ppbGxhLTAwMgRncHJpZANWVmJ3UElDQlRzYWtKV1pjWWdvUzdBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMxMARvcmlnaW4Dc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMQRwcXN0cgMgYXVyb3JhBHBxc3RybAM3BHFzdHJsAzE1BHF1ZXJ5A2F1cm9yYSBhaXJjcmFmdAR0X3N0bXADMTQ1OTEyNzE1OQ--?p=aurora+aircraft&fr2=sa-gp-search&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002](https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVitChPhW15AAclsnnIlQ;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTY4NwRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1tb3ppbGxhLTAwMgRncHJpZANWVmJ3UElDQlRzYWtKV1pjWWdvUzdBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMxMARvcmlnaW4Dc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMQRwcXN0cgMgYXVyb3JhBHBxc3RybAM3BHFzdHJsAzE1BHF1ZXJ5A2F1cm9yYSBhaXJjcmFmdAR0X3N0bXADMTQ1OTEyNzE1OQ--?p=aurora+aircraft&fr2=sa-gp-search&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002) ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/9 "2016-03-28T03:20:32Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > When a defense contractor announces a vastly extravagant program nobody, anywhere asked for, I get suspicious. I think its what they should be building, instead of the B-2.1. Probably fine for a bomb truck, but no stealth and subsonic speed is going retrograde. The future of aviation in the USAF and USN at some point, should be moving to exo-atmospheric. ICBM’s were fine, but the latter part of the century is going to make them obsolete. Declan ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/10 "2016-03-28T05:51:14Z")
I’m too lazy to search, but: Forget “last year” - I think that is the same “Hypersonic Super-Duper Commie Killer” that has been recycled every 10 years or so. Hell, I’d almost bet that the original artwork on the thing was done with paint and brush. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/11 "2016-03-28T09:37:25Z")
It will be operational just as soon as they get their container sized fusion reactor down to a suitcase volume. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/12 "2016-03-28T21:25:38Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > ICBM’s were fine, but the latter part of the century is going to make them obsolete. What do you reckon will make them obsolete? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/13 "2016-03-28T21:57:18Z")
Just occurred to me;will the skin of this hyperplane be coated with space shuttle tiles as insulation against atmospheric friction? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/14 "2016-03-29T00:45:01Z")
Almost certainly not. The tiles were a success thermodynamically, but an abject disaster in all other regards. Fragile, maintenance intensive, and very high drag. Drag didn’t much matter for the Shuttle where the whole point was to use up the excess speed & altitude of orbit any way they could do it survivably. For a powered aircraft that’s intended to cruise in the atmosphere, high drag is a killer. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/15 "2016-03-29T02:35:28Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > What do you reckon will make them obsolete? Abm technology for one, and this hypersonic airframe configured as a bomber. ICBM silo’s don’t move, so once you lose the over the horizon warning of an incoming strike, all your left with is your sub based SLBM’s, and air/ground launched cruise missiles. Its not that they won’t work, its more like a cost/risk analysis for a next generation missile may not get past the finance ministry. So Russia can deploy railroad cars that pop up with missiles, and you have to guess where they are, but they are also venerable to ABM defences, and eventually the system gets too expensive to maintain for no real gain. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/16 "2016-03-29T18:30:54Z")
Why don’t they just build an _Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator_? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/17 "2016-03-29T19:44:01Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Why don’t they just build an _Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator_? Martian patents are valid for much longer than those on Earth, and Marvin ain’t selling. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/18 "2016-03-29T22:31:34Z")
Who will get to Mach 6 first, Lockheed Martin or Gillette? Are they still actively tooting fusion? More seriously: Shooting a recon missile/suborbital satellite sounds a lot more achievable/efficient than having a Mach 6 recon plane. Do any countries still use suborbital spy satellites? As for bombing, what kind of payload can we expect from a purported SR-72? How would that compare to stationing missiles within an hour’s flight from potential targets? Are there any important locations the US can’t get within 1000km of? What are the advantages/synergies and disadvantages of designing a platform to do both recon and bombing? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/19 "2016-03-30T00:12:25Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Shooting a recon missile/suborbital satellite sounds a lot more achievable/efficient than having a Mach 6 recon plane. Do any countries still use suborbital spy satellites? What exactly is a “suborbital spy satellite”? (Apart from being an oxymoron) ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352/20 "2016-03-30T00:34:48Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > What exactly is a “suborbital spy satellite”? (Apart from being an oxymoron) A missile with spying equipment launched into space/upper atmosphere at speeds and altitudes which make it more difficult to intercept than any possible plane. Example: > **[CORONA (satellite)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(satellite))** > > The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The CORONA satellites were used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union (USSR), China, and other areas beginning in June 1959 and ending in May 1972. > In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite. Officially, Sputnik w... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockheed-wants-to-build-a-mach-6-sr-72/750352.md?page=2)