She brings back memories of a Vegas trip in the 90's....

Perhaps Harry might know of her.

I doubt it - but a few Air Engineers will no doubt recognise another female on that site! I'll give you a clue - not Chinese underwear fashion week but the one underneath....:eek:!

SR-72 implications for future airpower
 

Hi all,

Like you I've been very interested in the details of the SR-72 project that have emerged...
I'd be interested to know what you all make of the implications I've tried to read into the SR-72 announcement in this article for a defence think-tank?

RUSI - Speed is the New Stealth: The SR-72 Challenges the Future at Mach 6

Looking forward to your comments!

Justin

Radar evading stealth is partly a myth and technology exists to beat it to a large degree now.
However physics is physics and a very high very fast target takes a huge amount of reaching. Even simple manoeuvres by the target are difficult to counter.
SR 72 looks to be an unpiloted, cheaper and less complicated son of the Aurora black project, which had a relatively short service life. Probably due to technical or budgetary problems.

Control technology has come as far as the X 45, where the vehicle is autonomous. It is not "flown" from the ground, just told what its mission is. This is ideal for high speed, high altitude reconnaissance.

Call me a skeptic, but I'm not going to place much on one graphic, quite possibly a marketing scheme to determine complexity and price. There's likely forensic accountants out there trying to determine the facts with a whole lot more than a press release.

Gibson's North Sea siting was Aug '89 according to that post, so still within Det 4's time at the 'hall - just.
Last SR-71 mission from the 'hall was in late Nov '89, with the last a/c departing UK in early Jan '90.

Amid SR-72 Rumors, Skunk Works Ramps Up Hypersonics | Defense content from Aviation Week

skunk Works is believed to be planning the start of FRV development next year, with first flight targeted for 2020. The FRV will be around the same size as an F-22 and powered by a full-scale, combined-cycle engine. However, in the run-up to the demonstrator development, Lockheed is thought to be testing several discrete technologies in a series of ground and flight tests.

According to information provided to Aviation Week, one such technology demonstrator, believed to be an unmanned subscale aircraft, was observed flying into the U.S. Air Force’s Plant 42 at Palmdale, where Skunk Works is headquartered. The vehicle, which was noted landing in the early hours at an unspecified date in late July, was seen with two T-38 escorts. Lockheed Martin declined to comment directly on the sighting".

This is fascinating - can't wait to see it in the flesh.
Now come on Marillyn - unmanned just isn't cool - there's got to be room enough up the front for at least one guy or gal in a yellow David Clark suit...?!

From the comments at chopper2004's link

A lot of high tech jobs.

Salute!

I do not agree with Eclectic's assertion that "stealth" can be easily defeated. Remember, it's not that you have the "Romulan" cloaking device and remain 100% invisible until bomb release. You just have to make it really hard for the other side to detect you in time to do anything about it. Ask the 4th gen folks at the last two Red Flag exercises. The SR-71 missions flown in the 70's and 80's reflect this aspect of the engagements.

In my personal experience, our unit (18th FIS at Grand Forks) fired Genie rockets at M3+ Bomarc missiles back in the 60's, and despite a decent Bomarc RCS, only a slight change in course by the Bomarc ruined out intercept. Computers are much better now, however you still have to detect the target in time to get a good solution by your fire control system, not the long range stuff that tells you about where to go and serach, but not exactly.

I later flew down a chaff corridor over Hanoi in 1972 and the bad guys did not lock us up until we were coming down the chute and released our bombs.

The latest avionics are cosmic, but the final decision to engage or whatever is still relegated to a human being. So human factors and tactics and such come into play.

Gums opines....

Not at all. Read his background:

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/for...ic,2868.0.html

My level of respect was high already and has now increased exponentially... sir.

I once read somewhere and trying to think where - that to support the main Lockheed Skunk works David Clark company set up their own in the back of a department store to help with some suits or similar safety equipment.

I’m probably misquoting but those details stuck in my head- can anyone shed any light?

Either way shows what small focussed groups can do.

Here is a link to the "Boscombe Down Incident"
RAF Boscombe Down's Black Day
I think we may be confusing two aircraft -:
1) SR-71 - Aurora - Replacement aircraft High and Fast
2) TR-3 (?) Tac. recon. aircraft possibly developed from YF-23 which was more stealthy than F-22 but more expensive too.
Weren't some of the F-117 guys in the gulf seen wearing team stealth patches with two aircraft silhouettes ?
Aurora was probably unsuccessful long term, the examination of funding shows something very expensive in the right time frame, lets not forget the SR71 looked at a lot of places not just USSR.
Be lucky
David

The David Clark Company was the go to source for early US pressure suits, and still is a leader today. Your memory of department stores may stem from the fact that the company was also a leader of woman's undergarments, so had good knowledge of tight fitting garments, support etc. Getting into a tight girdle may have some similarities to cinching up a pressure suit :O There are stories of early U2, A-11, SR-71 crews quietly going to a rear entrance at the David Clark company HQ in Massachusetts for fittings as each pressure suit was custom made. Those era suits were quite similar to the Mercury space suits.

Who knows, perhaps the reasoning of sat coverage as a reason for the SR-71's retirement was a bit of disinformation.[/QUOTE]


I seem to remember a few years back that the reason the Blackbird was kept In service was that it was faster to get the asset over any location than re tasking a satellite for the job, seems a fair point and if it's gone what replaced it ?

scaled down test prototype Flying
 

Happy New Year all

Apparently there has been a scaled down tech demonstrator sighted ...amongst Palmdale..

https://theaviationist.com/2017/10/1...sonic-program/


Btw I picked this up from Greatest Planes That Never Were FB group -before anyone suggests I read the Fail ..it’s laughable calling the SR-72 a ‘bomber’ ☠️😝🤣🧐

SR-72 hypersonic bomber 'has already been made' | Daily Mail Online

It's a lot to read into one speaker's choice of tense. The public record is that LM and its main partner have been fishing for tech demonstration money for a while, and have found some.

DARPA Awards Aerojet Rocketdyne Contract to Develop Hypersonic Advanced Full Range Engine | Aerojet Rocketdyne

Not to say that there haven't been precursor programs, but that seems to be the story on "SR-72".

Boscombe Down Black Day
 

What a load of nonsense. It’s history now but the link to Boscombe Down’s Black Day doesn’t belong on here. Apply Occam's Razor and you’ll probably come up with the correct answer.