Advanced hypersonic drone is capable of flying at speeds from zero to six Mach numbers (up to 6.9 thousand kilometers per hour).
Vice-President of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Orlando Carvalho, speaking at the International aerotehnichesky Congress and exhibition (September 26-28, the city of Fort worth, Texas, USA), assessed the progress of States in creation of hypersonic drone SR-72.
“I believe that the United States is on the verge of a hypersonic revolution,” said Carvalho. The words of the Vice President Lockheed Martin publishing associated with the testing of the prototype SR-72.
According to Aviation Week, the prototype of the hypersonic drone tested at the end of July, the flight of the apparatus accompanied by two supersonic training aircraft Northrop T-38 Talon. The tests were at the site in Palmdale (USA), where the headquarters of the Skunk Works team of Lockheed Martin, working on the aircraft.
This information Lockheed Martin declined to comment.
According to the plans of Lockheed Martin, advanced hypersonic drone is capable of flying at speeds from zero to six Mach numbers (up to 6.9 thousand kilometers per hour). In size the full-scale SR-72 should be comparable to the SR-71. It is believed that a promising drone can be used for reconnaissance, high speed device will not allow the enemy to intercept him. A full-scale working version of the SR-72 is planned to create till the end of 2020.
To date, the record speed of 3.2 Mach number in a direct flight belongs to the American reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 Blackbird, captured with weapons in 1998.
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