HMM: Does SR-72 Hypersonic Dark Star Have Technical Challenges?

It’s hard to imagine a stealthy manned or unmanned 6th-gen or above jet capable of reaching hypersonic speeds in flight … could be cancelled. Seems unlikely, given the flurry of attention it received, speculation it inspired and capability it promised … yet the SR-72 Son of Blackbird aircraft seems to have vanished into a mysterious mist of uncertainty. Virtually “no” new information on the aircraft has emerged, and there has been very little speculation or hype about the “star” aircraft featured in the movie “Maverick” for quite some time.

The absence of emerging information could signal one of two opposite possibilities: the SR-72 has either become even more secret than it may have been previously, so Pentagon developers are simply leaving no room for new speculation, or the platform has not performed as promised and is simply cancelled or vanishing from existence. However, an effort to determine if the SR-72 is somewhat paradoxical as one must first affirm and verify that the platform, in fact … exists.

Technical complications?

Certainly the possibility of a highly maneuverable, manned hypersonic fighter jet has both Hollywood appeal and real-world tactical merit, yet establishing and sustaining stable hypersonic flight, in reality, remains challenging.

While very cool in theory, there are budgetary, performance, or necessity reasons could have led to the SR-72 (or whatever it’s called) being cancelled. Still, I’d like to think that the program turned out to be such a success that the Air Force put it under even tighter wraps.