The Blackbird set for a hypersonic overhaul as Lockheed Martin reveals new details of its Mach 6 SR-72

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Lockheed Martin has revealed its secretive Skunk Works unit is beginning to build the first flight demonstrator of a radical hypersonic update of the long-retired Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.

The firm has been working on the project since the early 2000s, but has now revealed progress on the project is gaining pace.

It says the SR-72 hypersonic plane will be a strike and reconnaissance aircraft that tops Mach 6.

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Lockheed Martin posted an artist's impression of the craft to its website, with the caption 'The Skunk Works hypersonic design – an aircraft developed to execute Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and strike missions at speeds up to Mach 6.'

'We've been saying hypersonics is two years away for the last 20 years, but all I can say is the technology is mature and we, along with Darpa and the services, are working hard to get that capability into the hands of our warfighters as soon as possible,' Rob Weiss, Lockheed Martin's executive vice president and general manager for Advanced Development Programs, told Aviation Week.

'I can't give you any timelines or any specifics on the capabilities,' he said.

'It is all very sensitive. 

'Some of our adversaries are moving along these lines pretty quickly and it is important we stay quiet about what is going on. 

'We can acknowledge the general capability that's out there, but any program specifics are off limits.'

Hypersonic technologies, including a combined cycle propulsion system that blends a rocket engine and a supersonic jet engine, are now sufficiently advanced to allow the planned SR-72 project to begin, it is believed. 

On July 28 1976 it broke the world record for absolute altitude - reaching 85,069 feet

If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile.

The plane flew so high above the Earth's surface that Joersz said there was no real sense of speed at all with the clouds so far below. 

A total of 32 of the aircraft were built which flew from 1964 to 1999; 12 were lost in accidents, but none were shot down by enemies. 

Lockheed's previous reconnaissance aircraft was the relatively slow U-2, designed for the CIA.

The plane's titanium skin was capable of surviving temperatures up to 482C

In late 1957, the CIA approached the defense contractor Lockheed to build an undetectable spy plane and within ten months they had come up with the design for the Blackbird.

Flying at 80,000 ft meant that crews could not use standard masks, which would not provide enough oxygen above 43,000 ft, so specialist protective pressurised suits were made. 

The plane's titanium skin was capable of surviving temperatures up to 482C.

Testing of an 'optionally piloted' flight research vehicle (FRV) could happen as early as next year.

It is expected to be around the same size as an F-22 and powered by a full-scale, combined cycle engine.

Envisioned as an unmanned aircraft, the SR-72 would fly at speeds up to Mach 6, or six times the speed of sound, Lockheed Martin has said previously.

At this speed, the aircraft would be so fast, an adversary would have no time to react or hide.

'Hypersonic aircraft, coupled with hypersonic missiles, could penetrate denied airspace and strike at nearly any location across a continent in less than an hour,' said Brad Leland, Lockheed Martin program manager, Hypersonics. 

'Speed is the next aviation advancement to counter emerging threats in the next several decades. 

'The technology would be a game-changer in theater, similar to how stealth is changing the battlespace today.'

Marillyn Hewson said Lockheed's engineers are on the verge of making technology such as scramjet engineers, which have been talked about for years, a reality. This illustration shows the design for the SR-72's engine. The plane will also have a  'warm structure'  that will heat up during flight

Lockheed Martin posted an artist's impression of the craft to its website, with the caption 'The Skunk Works hypersonic design – an aircraft developed to execute Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and strike missions at speeds up to Mach 6.' 

Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne have been working together since 2006 on work to integrate an off-the-shelf turbine with a scramjet to power an aircraft with a combined cycle propulsion system from standstill to Mach 6

'The combined cycle work is still occurring and obviously a big breakthrough in the air-breathing side of hypersonics is the propulsion system,' Weiss revealed.

'The technology of the 'air breather has been matured and work is continuing on those capabilities to demonstrate that they are ready to go and be fielded,' he adds. 

It comes as Boeing has pledged to make hypersonic passengers planes a reality - and says they could be operating within a decade.

'I think in the next decade or two you're going to see them become a reality,' Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg told CNBC at the Paris Air Show.

However, he admitted the firm still has to prove there are enough people who could afford tickets to make it worthwhile.

'I think in the next decade or two you're going to see them become a reality,' Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg told CNBC at the Paris Air Show.  He believes the firm's work on experimental craft such as the firm's work on the X-51 Waverider (pictured) would also prove invaluable.

'There is still work to do on closing the business case to make sense for our customers,' said Muilenburg, who said the firm's work on the X-51 Waverider would also prove invaluable. 

'But we see future innovations where you could connect around the world in about two hours.'

Hypersonic jets, flying at up to Mach 5, or 3,800 mph, could allow passengers to dramatically cut journey times.

For example, a commercial flight from New York to Shanghai currently takes about 15 hours - but at hypersonic speeds, could take two.

NASA recently said it is is seeking proposals for the development of its supersonic X-plane, with plans to begin work as early as next year.

The Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) low-boom flight demonstrator aims to produce a much lower 'boom' than other supersonic aircraft, and NASA is hoping to see the first flight tests take place in 2021, according to Aviation Week.

Lockheed Martin has been working on the preliminary design, with hopes to move on to build the demonstrator, but NASA has now opened the door for other companies to submit their own designs as well.

Boeing recently won a military contract to build a 'big bother' for the secretive X-37b spaceplane.

Boeing declined to say how much it will put into development of the vehicle, which it calls Phantom Express, with DARPA, which is an agency under the U.S. Department of Defense.

About the size of a business jet, Phantom Express will take off like a rocket, boost itself beyond the atmosphere and release an expendable second-stage rocket and satellite, then turn around and land like an airplane on a runway.

The project, known as XS-1, is expected to debut in 2020, and military bosses claim it will 'bolster national security by providing short-notice, low-cost access to space.'

NASA is backing plans to return to supersonic flight, with its Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) low-boom flight demonstrator aims to produce a much lower 'boom' than other supersonic aircraft, and NASA is hoping to see the first flight tests take place in 2021

HOW THE PHANTOM EXPRESS WILL MAKE SPACE AFFORDABLE

The XS-1 program envisions a fully reusable unmanned vehicle, roughly the size of a business jet, which would take off vertically like a rocket and fly to hypersonic speeds. 

The vehicle would be launched with no external boosters, powered solely by self-contained cryogenic propellants. 

Once it reaches the correct altitude, the booster would release an expendable upper stage able to deploy a 3,000-pound satellite to polar orbit

Upon reaching a high suborbital altitude, the booster would release an expendable upper stage able to deploy a 3,000-pound satellite to polar orbit. 

The reusable first stage would then bank and return to Earth, landing horizontally like an aircraft, and be prepared for the next flight, potentially within hours. 

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Despite the skepticism of supersonic and hypersonic planes being commercially viable, there is a resurgence in interest in ultra-fast airliners.

Colorado-based Boom Technology is meeting with prospective partners and clients at the Paris Air Show. Boom is developing a 55-seat supersonic jet it hopes to sell to airlines and have in service by early next decade.

THE PLANE THAT FLEW PASSENGERS FROM LONDON TO NY IN THREE-AND-A-HALF HOURS

Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet that was operated until 2003. 

It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 k per hour at cruise altitude) and could seat 92 to 128 passengers.

It was first flown in 1969, but needed further tests to establish it as viable as a commercial aircraft.

Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years.

The inability to turn a profit on supersonic flights between the U.S. and Europe is what ultimately killed the Concorde.

It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially. 

The other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which ran for a much shorter period of time before it was grounded and retired due to safety and budget issues.

Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Concorde's name, meaning harmony or union, reflects the cooperation on the project between the United Kingdom and France. 

In the UK, any or all of the type are known simply as 'Concorde', without an article. 

Twenty aircraft were built including six prototypes and development aircraft.

Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA) each received seven aircraft. 

The research and development failed to make a profit and the two airlines bought the aircraft at a huge discount.

It was first flown in 1969, but needed further tests to establish it as viable as a commercial aircraft.

Concorde was retired in 2003 due to a general downturn in the commercial aviation industry after the type's only crash in 2000, the September 11 attacks in 2001, and a decision by Airbus, the successor to Aérospatiale and BAC, to discontinue maintenance support.

The inability to turn a profit on supersonic flights between the U.S. and Europe is what ultimately killed the Concorde.

British Airways and Air France flew the Concorde for more than 30 years and never made money shuttling a limited number of passengers across the Atlantic in roughly 3½ hours.

The Concorde made its last flight in 2003.

 

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Boeing recently revealed a project to develop passengers planes that don't need a pilot and aims to test some of the technology next year.

Jetliners can already take off, cruise and land using their onboard flight computers and the number of pilots on a standard passenger plane has dropped to two from three over the years. 

The idea may seem far-fetched but with self-flying drones available for less than $1,000 (£774), 'the basic building blocks of the technology clearly are available,' said Mike Sinnett, Boeing's vice president of product development. 

Boeing is looking to test the technology in a simulator this summer and use it in real aircraft from next year, Mike Sinnett, vice president of product development said (stock image)

Mr Sinnett, a pilot himself, plans to test the technology in a cockpit simulator this summer.

He said he will 'fly on an airplane next year some artificial intelligence that makes decisions that pilots would make'.

Self-flying aircraft would need to meet the safety standards of air travel, which had its safest year in 2016, according to the Aviation Safety Network, the world's biggest plane maker said in a briefing ahead of the Paris Airshow.

They would also need to convince regulators who don't yet know how to certify such planes.

'I have no idea how we're going to do that,' Mr Sinnett said. 

'But we're studying it right now and we're developing those algorithms', he said. 

Airlines are among those backing the idea, in part to deal with a projected need for 1.5 million pilots over the next 20 years as global demand for air travel continues to grow.

But a self-flying plane would need to be able land safely as Captain Chesley Sullenberger did in the 'Miracle on the Hudson,' Mr Sinnett said.

'If it can't, then we can't go there.'

Boeing is also inching closer to creating its next new aircraft to plug a gap in its product line, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Kevin McAllister said in a separate briefing

A U.S. Airways plane hit a flock of geese shortly after taking off from New York in 2009 knocking out its engines but Sullenberger managed to glide the Airbus A320 to a safe landing on the Hudson River, saving all 150 passengers on board. 

Boeing is also inching closer to creating its next new aircraft to plug a gap in its product line between its best-selling narrow-bodied 737 and its larger 787 Dreamliner. 

It aims to bring the new jet to customers around 2025.

After in-depth talks with nearly 60 customers it concluded that current wide-body planes have too much range for most of the routes narrow-body planes fly, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Kevin McAllister said in a separate briefing.

'This is a market that cannot be served by narrow-bodies - not by ours or our competitors'' he said, referring to rival Airbus. 

'It can be served by wide-bodies, the question is can it be more efficiently served by a targeted airplane?'