Posted on 01/11/2021 10:46:41 AM PST by Onthebrink
The Lockheed SR-71 spy plane was – and still is – the fastest plane on the planet.
The Goal
Known unofficially as the “Blackbird” for its black paint job, which was developed to dissipate heat, the jet featured sleek lines that certainly were “futuristic” when it was flying top secret missions years before American astronauts headed to the moon.
It was developed in secret in the late 1950s to cruise to 80,000 feet above the earth, near the edge of space, and out fly any missile that was launched at it.
(Excerpt) Read more at 19fortyfive.com ...
They retired it.
What do they have now that is faster?......................................
Is that the same Plane that Papa Bush flew to Paris? LOL
The pinnacle of aviation, designed with slide rules.
Satellites. better cameras are cheaper than better planes.
Aurora
I read where (D) president Johnson gave away that secret plane; he let it be known we had it.
I like to think we still have an edge. There is still hope we do. Hypersonic sled travels at 6,599 mph (Mach 8.6) at Holloman Air Force Base https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuYIbYVLF4k
I'm sure that with modern engineering, a faster plane could be developed but for what purpose? Satellites can do the job better than a plane can.
Even Aurora is getting old. Made a couple of parts for them 20 years ago, when our cloaking technology was in its infancy. Hard to imagine current state of the art.
Get a copy of Ben Rich’s, “Skunkworks: A memoir of my years at Lockheed”
Absolutely the most informative and interesting treatise on the development of the SR71 and the later the F-117 stealth fighter.
Small cameras and monitoring devices dropped directly onto the sites by that funny looking Space Shuttle wannabee.
“How Slow Can An SR-71 Fly?”
https://fortunascorner.com/2013/12/15/retired-sr-71-blackbird-pilot-how-slow-can-sr71-fly/
Satellite schedules are well known. It doesn’t matter how good your cameras are when everyone knows when they’ll be overhead.
An SR-71 can appear quicker than you can camouflage something you’re attempting to relocate in mid-move.
Maybe Aurora or some other ‘technology sufficiently advanced, to be indistinguishable from magic’ to paraphrase Clarke’s law...
“On Mar. 6, 1990, SR-71 Blackbird S/N 61-7972 (tail number #972) made its final flight from AF Flight Test Center Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, to Washington DC to be retired and put on display at The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
During that flight, pilot Lt. Cols. Ed Yielding and RSO (Reconnaissance Systems Operator) Joseph Vida set a speed record flying from LA to DC (2299.7 statute miles) in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 km/h (2,124 MPH).”
Because we’re Americans, that’s why. Streaking across the sky like a meteor just said...Victory.
We still use U2s because satellites can not linger.
Aurora?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.