Thread

1. walrus01 · 1790727565 · focus · HN ↗

   I'd be more astonished if there isn't something superior to the SR71 (likely unmanned) that has been flying around at night from facilities like Groom Lake for years. Look at how long the RQ180 was flying around in semi-public and known about before it became seen in daylight by plane spotters in Greece. And a long time before that there were public relations approved photos of the Lockheed Martin Polecat.

   There were a series of extremely public quotations from senior DoD officially recently about how they plan to aggressively retire the Global Hawk program (which is a mostly non stealth aircraft), reading between the lines it's because they have something much better.

   edit: for those who haven&#x27;t seen the RQ180: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;search?client=firefox-b-d&amp;q=RQ180+greece" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;search?client=firefox-b-d&amp;q=RQ180+gre...

   edit 2 (apologies for the X link): <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;x.com&#x2F;MechDesignxyz&#x2F;status&#x2F;2041281689838584193" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;x.com&#x2F;MechDesignxyz&#x2F;status&#x2F;2041281689838584193

   1. throwawayffffas · 1790762572 · focus · HN ↗

      I would not be so sure, the environment that led to the development of the SR71 is not there any more.

      For one thing space based observation is very good and has a much faster turn around now days.

      Back then photography was film based, satellites would fly take pictures and release the film in a pod to reenter and be recovered mid flight[1].

      And on the other hand altitude and speed does not buy as much survivability as it did back then.

      Fighters flew at a maximum of 1.5 mach and missiles at 2-2.5 mach.

      S-400s for example can launch interceptor variants that can intercept targets at almost a hundred thousand feet moving at 14 mach. I know that is for ballistic targets, but I doubt an aircraft flying at a similar altitude even at hypersonic speeds would have much luck.

      1. j4k0bfr · 1790776025 · focus · HN ↗

         I agree that any military on equal standing would blast the SR71++ to smithereens. But how many wars does the US fight against equals? And on the reconnaissance side, there are pros and cons to satellites. They&#x27;re hard to replace and easy to track &amp; destroy. Plus even the best space sensors lose quality due to distance.

         Do I think an SR72 is a good idea? Hell no, but I don&#x27;t think like the US military haha.

         1. cryptonector · 1790777388 · focus · HN ↗

            &gt; Do I think an SR72 is a good idea?

            It&#x27;s idiotic. Unless the goal is to waste money and opportunities, then it&#x27;s brilliant.

            Between spy sats and drones we don&#x27;t need a spy plane, not even a mach 6 spy drone.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.