In Brief Built by Lockheed Martin in the 1960s and decommissioned in 1998 due to high operational costs, the SR-71 Blackbird remains the fastest aircraft to have ever been flown. Now, Lockheed Martin wants to build an even faster plane: the SR-72. <\/p>\n
Now that Lockheed Martin has confirmed that they are building the SR-72, which could be the first hypersonic plane, NASA has released video footage of its predecessor: the SR-71 Blackbird. <\/p>\n
Built in the 1960s by Lockheed using designs that were kept secret in the 1950s, the SR-71 Blackbird is the fastest manned aircraft to have ever flown the skies. To get an idea of how fast, watch the below video of the plane taking off. <\/p>\n
Capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 3 (2,200 mph) with a maximum altitude of almost 26,000 meters (85,000 feet), the two-seater SR-71 Blackbird was used as a reconnaissance plane from 1964 to 1998. Lockheed built only 32 of these super-fast planes, and now, they want to build an even faster one that will act asa strike and recon aircraft. <\/p>\n
The SR-72, the leading project under Lockheeds Advanced Development Programs (ADP) or Skunk Works, promises to be even faster than the Blackbird. The company wants to develop a plane capable of hypersonic flight speeds of Mach 5 (3,836 mph) and higher and the SR-72 is expected to reach a Mach 6 (4,600 mph) top speed. <\/p>\n
The inspiration for this hypersonic plane may come from the past, but it is poised to take military aircraft well into the future. <\/p>\n
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Read more: In Brief Built by Lockheed Martin in the 1960s and decommissioned in 1998 due to high operational costs, the SR-71 Blackbird remains the fastest aircraft to have ever been flown. Continue reading
\nSee Newly Released NASA Footage of the Fastest Plane Ever Flown - Futurism<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"