SR-72 Confirmed: Mach 6 Project Blackswift

Weapons payload is a sensitive issue at those speeds. The drag coefficient makes it nearly impossible unless you are talking about a beam weapon. This is a recon bird if you ask me.

edit double post...

[edit on 30-1-2008 by Spirit Warrior]

Hey everyone, this is my first post.
I was browsing through the front page and this grabbed my attention..

My dad works for Lockheed Martin, and is up there in the ranks,
he called me up a wile ago, and told me about the SR-72 BlackSwift
project that just became un-classified a wile back.
If anyone wants any info just ask me, he might let me know.

Originally posted by intelgurl
Additionally the article says that the Blackswift could aid in developing a delivery vehicle of conventional warheads as part of the DoD’s Prompt Global Strike concept.

The Prompt Global Strike concept calls for developing a capability to strike a target anywhere on earth within 1 hour of a launch order.

Why exactly do we need to be able to strike Australia/Tasmania within 1 hour of a launch order?

What kind of intentions does the DoD have, or maybe we should rename it to the DoW?

Man, that is scary to think of how much money and effort is spent into ways of killing people, if only half as much was spent on actual defense and peace instead of offensive tactics (though I do understand the 'fear factor'/deterrence of the hypothetical adversary knowing the terror of facing the U.S. military complex's swift and insanely advanced arsenal).

I do find it quite interesting that we are working towards Mach 20 with a vehicle in our atmosphere, considering the Space Shuttle goes Mach 25. Makes space travel in aircraft seem quite plausible, no?

Excuse my intelgirl, I don't mean this in a bad way at all but are the pictures concept pics or real life? they rub me as photoshopped but I could be wrong and I hope I am.

I appriciate you bringing this to our attention.

I wonder when we start hearing about the TR-3B

reply to post by GrOuNd_ZeRo


Which images are you referring to GZ?

If they say it might be coming out, I will tell you, It has been in the air for atleast 20 years.

Ufo's sighting and the disinformation of aliens and outer space crafts are really ment to obsefucate the truth they are testing and or using extremely hitech (by our standards) crafts. When ever one is spotted they smear it in the news saying "was it an alien ship?" koo koo. right?

Originally posted by IvanZana
Ufo's sighting and the disinformation of aliens and outer space crafts are really ment to obsefucate the truth they are testing and or using extremely hitech (by our standards) crafts. When ever one is spotted they smear it in the news saying "was it an alien ship?" koo koo. right?

The business of war would love to have an enemy as far as one can see in every direction. Think of all the countries that don't have military budgets anywhere near ours. Qui bono.

Originally posted by GrOuNd_ZeRo
Excuse my intelgirl, I don't mean this in a bad way at all but are the pictures concept pics or real life? they rub me as photoshopped but I could be wrong

and I hope I am.

Those pics I think you are referring to are artist's renderings produced by Lockheed. Link

Originally posted by GrOuNd_ZeRo
I wonder when we start hearing about the TR-3B

Provided there is such a craft, I would think we would have other less advanced systems revealed first; Aurora - if it exists, for example.

reply to post by intelgurl


Intelgurl wouldn't you say that the last image posted looks like a model/mock-up thats been placed on the hanger floor and then a picture taken of it?

(image in question)


The scale etc of everything in the back ground and the perspective leads me to believe that it is indeed a mock-up/model

Also another mention of Blackswift in the news.

Lewis also mentioned a recent Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on a project called Blackswift, between the Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA). “Blackswift is a turbine-based, combine cycle system” that takes off as a traditional aircraft with an air-breathing engine and then converts to a scramjet at altitude. “The key technical challenge is the hand-off ... switching between turbine and scramjet.” According to Lewis, a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released soon, although “we don’t know what it will look like. DARPA has funded the initial concept development.”

www.aviationweek.com...

So just to mention as well in here how up in the air the images provided. Will be interesting to see when the RFP is put out and the concepts supplied.

[edit on 6-3-2008 by Canada_EH]

Not sure if this has been linked yet, just in case it hasn't, here is the program solicitation from DARPA for Project Blackswift.

Link

From the System Requirements Document (an appendix to the above linked doc):

Hypersonic Flight
1.1. The Blackswift testbed shall use a hydrocarbon-fueled turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system reaching and maintaining maximum sustained Mach number of 6+ for a duration sufficient to attain propulsion system thermal equilibrium or for at least sixty seconds (whichever is greater). The flight test program shall demonstrate testbed maneuverability at Mach 6+ including execution of an aileron roll and a lateral maneuver.
1.1.1. Definitions:
1.1.1.1. “Maximum Sustained Mach number” is the maximum Mach number at
which propulsion system thermal equilibrium can be attained at level
cruising flight.
1.1.1.2. “Propulsion System Thermal Equilibrium” is achieved when the
propulsion system reaches a steady state temperature.
1.1.1.3. “Aileron Roll” is a 360 degree coordinated rotation around the
longitudinal axis while maintaining the original heading direction.
1.1.1.4. “Lateral Maneuver” is a turn of at least 1.5 g’s load factor for five (5)
seconds, followed by reversal and return to original heading, at the
maximum sustained Mach number and nominal level flight.
2.0 Thermal Balance
2.1. The Blackswift testbed shall achieve propulsion system thermal equilibrium at the
testbed’s maximum Mach capability without the use of excess fuel for cooling of the
propulsion system (i.e. no overboard fuel dumping).
3.0 Powered Take-Off, Ascent, Acceleration, Cruise, and Landing
3.1. The Blackswift testbed shall take off and land on a runway and shall accelerate,
cruise, and decelerate, using conventional, powered aircraft operating procedures
(e.g., air drop or rocket augmentation shall not be used to meet the requirements)
within a usable flight test range that are consistent within range requirements.
4.0 Flight Test Operational Life
4.1. The Blackswift testbed shall have an operational life of at least two hypersonic flights
at the maximum sustained Mach number on the same testbed following a flight
envelope expansion buildup program with, if necessary, only minor airframe
refurbishment.
10 7
4.2. The Blackswift testbed turn around time between flights shall be consistent with the
proposed flight test schedule, but in any case the time to refurbish and service the
testbed shall not exceed ten (10) days.
5.0 Propulsion System
5.1. The Blackswift testbed shall achieve the hypersonic flight requirements using a
(TBCC) propulsion system consisting of integrated turbojet and ramjet/scramjet
engines combined into a single propulsion flowpath.
5.2. The Blackswift testbed propulsion system design and configuration shall be
representative of propulsion components and propulsion integration schemes used by
a future, reusable, air-breathing hypersonic cruise vehicle.
6.0 Flight Test and Envelope Expansion
6.1. The Blackswift flight test program shall demonstrate flight operability and
performance, including multiple flights to incrementally expand the flight envelope.
7.0 Aircraft Design Capability
7.1. The testbed shall be designed to ensure robust operation with necessary performance
margin including the capability for demonstrating:
7.1.1. Propulsion system operability and thermal balance
7.1.2. Inlet start/un-start/re-start limits
7.1.3. Rejected take-off prior to lift-off
7.1.4. Robust TBCC mode transition flight conditions (accel and decel)
7.1.5. Operation through a range of dynamic pressures consistent with testbed design
limits
7.1.6. Power-off landing
7.1.7. Power-off energy management (speed/wheel brakes, parachutes, etc)
8.0 Flight Test Instrumentation, Data, and Acquisition
8.1. The Blackswift flight test program shall include testbed instrumentation, ground
support, air assets, and data monitoring and acquisition systems to measure and
record sufficient flight test data to determine successful completion of flight test
objectives, satisfying system requirements, and validating ground test data and
modeling and simulation predictions.
10 8
9.0 Aircraft Fault Tolerance, Recovery, and Flight Termination
9.1. The Blackswift testbed shall be fail safe to the maximum extent achievable.
9.2. The Blackswift testbed shall have a flight termination system.

I love the requirement for an aileron roll at Mach 6.

I look forward to seeing a clip of that on YouTube or LiveLeak

Darpa has opened a bidding on building the Blackswift.
This is where it gets interesting...
What we are now seeing is a program going "black". We've talked about such things in the past.
The Blackswift is going to Groom Lake. Everyone I know who is connected to the project is saying so. But then the press releases from Darpa describe a program that is only in the developmental stage and going to the lowest bidder.

Don't be fooled.

reply to post by intelgurl


So the Blackswift has already been built, or is in the process of being built by Lockheed no matter what the smoke and mirror display from DARPA implies?

Originally posted by WestPoint23

So the Blackswift has already been built, or is in the process of being built by Lockheed no matter what the smoke and mirror display from DARPA implies?

It's in process.

reply to post by intelgurl


Hi Intelgurl, intriguing as always! :-)

You mentioned in the bore-aura thread that a UK facility is already operational, any idea of the location of this?

Cheers

Robbie

reply to post by stratsys-sws


No specific location mentioned... Just that it's in process.

What is the size of the futur operational Blackswift?

Originally posted by darksidius
What is the size of the futur operational Blackswift?

At this time that is unknown.
Most suspect it to be between the size of an F-15 and an F-111.