Originally Posted by
pasta
So the XB-70 retirement, on grounds of being too expensive, too complex and obsolete, was actually a cover story for top-secret Aurora. However the reason Aurora has never reached the public domain, despite being replaced by a system that regularly features in USAF press releases, is that it was retired, on grounds of being too expensive, too complex and obsolete. Have I got that right?
This has all entered the tinfoil hat territory methinks.
Developing something that big and complex could never be done in secret these days or in the 90s.