SR-72 ‘Son of Blackbird’: The Mach 6 Plane That Could Shake the U.S. Military To Its Core

SR-72 ‘Son of Blackbird’: The Mach 6 Plane That Could Shake the U.S. Military To Its Core

Key Points and Summary – Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has hinted for years at an SR-72 hypersonic successor to the SR-71, but the U.S. Air Force has never confirmed a program of record. This piece separates rumor from reality: what Aerojet Rocketdyne’s scramjet research and DARPA efforts suggest, why “Darkstar” from Top Gun isn’t the SR-72, and the engineering hurdles—turbine-to-scramjet propulsion, extreme heating, materials, guidance, and JP-…