Is there a SR-72 in our Future?
- Thread starter TheLastWord
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If the SR-71 was able to deliver intelligence products that could not be duplicated with another platform, it would've been worth keeping it flying for 400+ million/year.
But the decision to cancel it was made during a time of big military spending cuts. The "Peace Dividend" from the end of the Cold War.
I think this was a mistake - it may have been built for the Cold War, but it had many uses in other types on conflict.
It could fly over any country with impunity. Nothing says, "We are a superpower, pay attention" like flying over someone else's country at Mach 3+ and they are unable to do anything about it.
There is no better example of the strategic impact of the SR-71 than the scheduled flyover of Libya during one of Khaddaffi's speeches. As he stood at the podium, railing against the west, and the US, a Mach 3 sonic boom was heard. He ducked down behind the podium, fearing attack.
It was caught on international television for all to see.
No satellite, or stealth reconnaissance platform, makes international leaders duck in fear...
The airframe can be made more capable without the support systems for humans. Higher fuel loading. Higher stress limits.
That doesn't make the whole system more capable. The human makes decisions on how to employ the airplane, based on what is happening in the airplane's environment. Things happen in a mission that computers cannot anticipate, and that computers cannot, yet, "think" their way through.
For a simple strike - get weapon A to target B - an unmanned craft may be more capable.
But the enemy gets a vote. If the unmanned aircraft encounters an unpredicted enemy action - SAMs, fighters, deception, jamming, whatever - it may not be able to compensate. The mission is a failure. The aircraft is lost.
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So as a recon tool, no but as a "show of force" tool, yes?
ADSB exchange doesn’t filter or block certain aircraft like FlightRadar does, at least that’s what they claim. In my (albeit little) experience, if something pops up as “BLOCKED” or “No call sign” on FR24 you can get one or the other if not both off ADSB. ADSB doesn’t have a nice to use app/intuitive interface though.
I had the incredible opportunity to meet a blackbird pilot about 15 years ago. He's still alive and lives in Aurora Colorado. It cost taxpayers at the time $250,000 per hour to operate. From recent material published towards the end of its operating life on more than one occasion pilots found embedded shrapnel in the bottom of the fuselage. I really think the CIA kept it a secret but from what it sounds like Soviet missiles were starting to make it to the altitude and speed of the sr-71 they just never quite hit it. If it had indeed been brought down you think the U-2 incident was bad I can only imagine the outcome of a Blackbird being brought down over Russia.
From what I have read the blackbird never over flew russia,didnt have to it saw far enough in from altitude .
I got a collection of books written by lockheed engineers and pilots but i forget which one it was ,could of been one of the many u tube vids.
I got a collection of books written by lockheed engineers and pilots but i forget which one it was ,could of been one of the many u tube vids.
I think that the Blackbird was unparalleled in performance but a recent article on thedrive.com had a Lockheed director more or less say that there are at least a dozen projects that are still classified. I'd be really curious what could Lockheed still have secret? Recently rumors have sprouted up that ( it sounds legit) area 51 has a "Collections hangar " for employees to browse that are from retired or partially developed aircraft projects available for viewing. This would be amazing to see.
Seen an SR 71 in a museum in Seattle.
Probably never see another reconnaissance plane in my life though.
Probably never see another reconnaissance plane in my life though.
Bumping an old thread, mostly because this Chinese 6th gen "fighter" or what ever it is... Is extremely similar to what I describe that I saw years ago on approach to Gwinn airport in FL.
I observed a nearly identical wedge shaped aircraft with small twin tails and distinctly visible flight controls on approach to Gwinn some years back. The only difference would be that the plane I saw 'seemed' to have straight leading edges instead of the slight bend seen here. Even the busy trailing edge flight controls look strangely similar. We have/had at least one large twin engine jet flying well before this Chinese plane. Of course I speculate they copied us through industrial espionage.
If I were to 'cut off' the section of wing here where it angles outward a bit, and make it a perfect acute angle, that's the plane I saw.
I observed a nearly identical wedge shaped aircraft with small twin tails and distinctly visible flight controls on approach to Gwinn some years back. The only difference would be that the plane I saw 'seemed' to have straight leading edges instead of the slight bend seen here. Even the busy trailing edge flight controls look strangely similar. We have/had at least one large twin engine jet flying well before this Chinese plane. Of course I speculate they copied us through industrial espionage.
If I were to 'cut off' the section of wing here where it angles outward a bit, and make it a perfect acute angle, that's the plane I saw.
Lots of things being tested in the air over civilian population. This year my friend was out in his yard well after dark. He spotted a very large wedge shaped drone flying virtually silent just over tree top level. He said it was an amazing sight. He lives about two miles from the Aberdeen Proving Ground equipment testing site. It was headed directly to there.
Unbelievable. We've allowed the Chinese to make advancements that I would hope we can counter. Someday we may very well be at war with them.
Don't confuse similar shape with performance. Any country is free to copy.
Free to copy but not free to spy and steal secrets.
Everyone sovereign steals secrets. Let's not be hypocritical
But it doesn't mean it's free to do so. China and Russia as well as Iran have been stealing secrets from the U.S. for decades. China wouldn't be nearly as advanced if it wasn't for espionage. I highly doubt there is much we've stolen from China.
I say it's a 100% chance of being completely fake ccp propaganda. They video edited some high tech looking triangles and stitched some jet sound from another video. China's "5th gen" jets are a joke and would get spanked even by something American that's many decades old in a real fight. I'd disregard this utter communist baloney. Everything is fake over there, especially their military "superiority"
Actually, that was M-21 variant, designed to carry the Mach 3 drone on its back:
https://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/locations.php (Note that the MN Blackbird is now located in VA at the CIA Q building.)
I’m not sure I trust the authenticity of that video.
Further, that’s a Chinese aircraft, which would not have been flying in Florida.
I’m not saying we don’t have stuff in the works, I’m just saying I don’t believe the Chinese video.
I think he’s saying that he only saw something similar in shape landing in Florida. And there have been a lot flying wing prototypes going as far back as the 1940s.
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