Posted on 01/15/2018 11:10:44 PM PST by BenLurkin
The new aircraft will be a direct competitor to Lockheed martin's upcoming SR-72.
...
Speaking to Aviation Week Aerospace Daily, Boeing's hypersonics chief described how Boeing was planning a two-step development process for the new war plane. The first stage would involve flight tests of an "F16-sized, single-engine" precursor vehicle that acts as a "proof of concept".
The second stage is the creation of a "twin-engine, full-scale operational vehicle" that has roughly similar dimensions to the 107-foot-long SR-71.
...
The speed of sound – or Mach 1 – is around 1235km/h. So hitting Mach 5 would mean the Son of Blackbird would have to travel at an incredible 6,174km/h.
...
The tricky part is that the SR-71 replacement needs to to be able to take off, accelerate, slow down and land all on its own – just like the original 1964 model. Boeing is looking at using a conventional turbojet to hit Mach 3, then switching to a different configuration to boost beyond Mach 5.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
My guess from recent reports, there is already fast planes, Boeing is doing some public catch-up.
This has probably been flying for a decade and they’re doing some kind of worm-hole thing now.
Several years back I knew an engineer who’d been at Lockheed and then came to work at Boeing defense. We were sitting around drinking one night and I asked him what he knew about a certain classified program I was vaguely aware of. It was like he was electrocuted - yells, “I don’t know you! I don’t know you!”, and literally runs away. I think he thought I was a Boeing or DOD security guy looking for blabber mouths. I guess my hunch was right.
They didn’t train him very well.
The ‘alleged’ Aurora hypersonic plane was flying as far back as ‘89, but that probably was the first of a progression of test mules and proof of concept vehicles. The A-12 flew for a couple of years before it morphed into the SR-71, but the capabilities of these things are well more extreme, and it’s a much smaller world today. Harder to keep things secret. Back in the day, they tested the radar signature of the SR-71 by sticking it on top of a pole and leaving it in the wide open in front of god and everybody for a couple of months in Area 51. But thanks to G**gle, you can’t do that crap any more.
This one could just be another feint, more disinformation to keep Pootie-Poot’s piles in an uproar. Then again, Jane Air — the airline that doesn’t exist and only flies between McCarran and Area 51 — does happen to be advertising for fight deck crewmembers again.
It’s not like that’s A CLUE or nothin’.
What is the reasoning behind development of this new bird? They mothballed the SR-71 because they said it wasn’t needed anymore. What changed?
They didn’t need the SR71 so much because they had satellites. Now our adversaries have better anti satellite capabilities than they used to.
North Korea.
I’m thinking that we’re well beyond this.
I think they are publishing that so the Chi-Coms and Russkies can look at the design and copy it for their program. Meanwhile, it can’t fly a lick.
The X-15 was carried aloft but that does not diminish the fact that fifty years ago Pete Knight flew over southern California at mach 6.7, 4520 miles per hour.
Spent an afternoon with him once. Was very impressed.
I was saddened when he passed away. He would have been behind the President 100%. I was able to vote for him several times for state office.
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.