Key Points and Summary on SR-72 Darkstar: The SR-72 “Darkstar,” the unofficial “Son of Blackbird,” is a top-secret, unmanned hypersonic aircraft in development by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, aiming to be the successor to the legendary SR-71.
-Projected to fly at Mach 6, the SR-72 is being designed for both intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions, potentially armed with the new High-Speed Strike Weapon (HSSW).
-Its revolutionary propulsion system is expected to be a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine, blending a traditional turbojet with a scramjet for hypersonic flight.
-While still highly classified, the SR-72 is expected to enter service by 2030.
The SR-72 Darkstar Could Be a Truly Historic Plane
If you’ve seen the summer 2022 cinematic blockbuster “Top Gun 2: Maverick,” then you’ve seen the SR-72 “Darkstar,” albeit in fictitious form.
With titular character Capt. (USN) Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) at the controls (naturally) in the epic opening scene, the “Darkstar” made quite an impression on moviegoers around the world, even though the real-life iteration of the plane hadn’t yet even made it past the conceptual stage of development at that point in time.
It wasn’t just casual film buffs left in awe of the SR-72’s potential. The United States Navy reportedly told Top Gun’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, that China’s military brass actually re-oriented spy satellites to get a glimpse of the full-size mock-up that Mr. Bruckheimer’s crew had built for filming!
Time flies, and it’s already been three years since that long-awaited film debuted at the box office, which begs the question of where the real-world SR-72 program stands now.
SR-72 Darkstar or Son of Blackbird Premise
But first, some backstory is in order. The SR-72 Darkstar was envisioned as the direct successor to the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, built by Lockheed’s (now Lockheed Martin’s) legendary “Skunk Works” division.
The iconic Blackbird still holds the world record as the fastest air-breathing aircraft ever built—officially Mach 3.2 but unofficially at or above Mach 3.5 (2,685 mph, 4,321.8 km/h, 2,333.5 knots)—a whopping 35 years after its initial official retirement and 27 years after its final (for real this time) retirement by the US Air Force.
Hence, the Darkstar’s unofficial and humorously affectionate sobriquet of “Son of Blackbird,” i.e., a more polite iteration of the acronym “SOB.”
Speaking of Lockheed Martin, it’s worth noting that the company’s personnel collaborated with the Top Gun filmmakers to create the aircraft’s outward appearance, which suggests that the cinematic design was at least nominally grounded in actual aerospace design concepts.
If the RUMINT (RUMor INTelligence) was (and still is) to be believed, the Son of Blackbird will leave its father (so to speak) in the dust, to the tune of Mach 6 speed capabilities! Mach 6 equates to 4,603/6 mph (7408.8 kmh; 4,000.4 knots). To put that in further perspective, anything Mach 5 or above is considered to be hypersonic.
If this sounds too good to be true, it is worth remembering that on October 3, 1967, the rocket-powered X-15 plane achieved a speed of Mach 6.7, making its test pilot, then-USAF Maj. (eventually retired Col.) William John “Pete” Knight (November 18, 1929 – May 7, 2004) the fastest flying pilot ever.
Back in 2022, indications were that the “SOB” would supposedly be comparable in size to the SR-71, measuring over 100 ft (30 m) in length and boasting the same range, along with an altitude ceiling exceeding 100,000 feet. Moreover, unlike the unarmed Blackbird, the “Son” would also pack some weaponry.
Present-Day Status on SR-72
So then, how prescient and accurate have those prognostications turned out to be?
Well, of course, the details of the program are still very hush-hush. Nonetheless, in an attempt to provide at least a partial answer to that question, we turn to Christopher McFadden of Interesting Engineering in an article titled “SR-72: US secret hypersonic jet to allegedly break sound barrier in 2025.”
One of the things noted by Mr. McFadden is that, unlike the filmic version of the Darkstar, the real SR-72 is going to be unmanned (which will undoubtedly be disappointing news to would-be test pilots who would otherwise be lining up in droves to get inside the cockpit and therefore become a real-life Maverick).
Regarding the aforementioned weaponry bit: Though the primary mission of the SR-72 would still be intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) just like its predecessor, it’s also believed that the SR-72 will support Lockheed Martin’s new High-Speed Strike Weapon (HSSW), which can fire hypersonic weapons faster than any other system and instantly achieve hypersonic speeds; for good measure, it can maintain these speeds for more extended periods.
Ergo, if the “SOB” and the HSSW were to become a viable tandem, that would be an ideal tag team for striking targets in hotly contested battle spaces where manned aircraft would be too slow and too risky.
2 Words: Mach 6?
Conventional turbojet and turbofan engines would be inadequate to support a hypersonic aircraft, ergo the Darkstar program “is focused on developing a fully reusable turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) hypersonic propulsion system,” which is “a kind of air-breathing jet engine that combines the turbofan engines used in many modern tactical aircraft with a supersonic combustion ramjet (also known as a scramjet) that is capable of achieving and sustaining speeds above Mach 5 and even potentially exceeding Mach 10.“
Mr. McFadden states that “The aircraft is set to enter service by 2030.” We will be keeping a close eye on this optimistic forecast to see if it proves to be prescient.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU).
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