SR-72
The Skunk Works SR-72 design is a hypersonic unmanned aircraft developed to execute Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and strike missions at speeds up to Mach 6. At this speed, the aircraft would be so fast, an adversary would have no time to react or hide. The SR-72’s design incorporates lessons learned from the HTV-2, which flew to a top speed of Mach 20 or 13,000 mph, the surface temperature rising to 3500°F. The proposed drone is positioned the follow-on to the Air Forces’ fastest known strategic reconnaissance aircraft, the Mach 3 SR 71 ‘BlackBird’ developed by the legendary designer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, the Chief Designer of the Lockheed skunk works in the early 1960s. Such an aircraft, coupled with hypersonic missiles, could penetrate denied airspace and strike at nearly any location across a continent in less than an hour.
The SR hypersonic unmanned aircraft is proposed to be developed in a timeframe such that it could enter service with the US Air Force in 2030. This is an area that India has to put its mind to as UAV/Drones will be the mainstay of defence potential in the near future.
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