SR-72 Hypersonic Strike Aircraft Revealed

Seems like Russian Air Defence Radars and SAM will have new challenges in decades ahead

SR-72 Hypersonic Strike Aircraft Reveled

http://theaviationist.com/2013/11/01/sr-72-unveiled/#.UnPKTRD9Uep

www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_11_01_2013_p0-632731.xml&p=1

Austin wrote:Seems like Russian Air Defence Radars and SAM will have new challenges in decades ahead

SR-72 Hypersonic Strike Aircraft Reveled

http://theaviationist.com/2013/11/01/sr-72-unveiled/#.UnPKTRD9Uep

www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_11_01_2013_p0-632731.xml&p=1

And thats why I think its time for MIG-32 

And that's why S-500 is being developed.
And that's why PVO and space forces have been merged.

The future of strategic aviation has been clear for a while: Hypersonic bombers, hypersonic missiles, hypersonic everything. Stealth will still be there...but in the back seat.

It will be years before this thing becomes reality, while Russia and India are working together as of now on Hypersonic engines, which can be applied to SAM technology once built. Radar wouldnt have much problem picking it up if they increase the transmission rate between radar and control, to the launchers. The radar will just have to respond quicker.

Austin wrote:Seems like Russian Air Defence Radars and SAM will have new challenges in decades ahead

SR-72 Hypersonic Strike Aircraft Reveled

http://theaviationist.com/2013/11/01/sr-72-unveiled/#.UnPKTRD9Uep

www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_11_01_2013_p0-632731.xml&p=1

Aviationweek's level of information's control and accuracy has gone truly down vertically in the latest years .  

That for not say that ,some decades ago, "smoke and mirror" capabilities of US operatives was without any doubt immensely better than today.......in particular when the aim was to divert or conceal the true direction followed in the most strategically important military development programs........what a shame  .

Mindstorm wrote:Aviationweek's level of information's control and accuracy has gone truly down vertically in the latest years .  

That for not say that ,some decades ago, "smoke and mirror" capabilities of US operatives was without any doubt immensely better than today.......in particular when the aim was to divert or conceal the true direction followed in the most strategically important military development programs........what a shame  .      

I dont get what you say Mindstorm.

AW&ST latest issue that covers US Hypersonic Program

http://in.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issue=416284053&e=true

GarryB wrote:

And thats why I think its time for MIG-32

?

A MIG bomber?

No, but a situation where like in past, Russia will have 500 supersonic/hypersonic interceptors in the form of MIG-32 and US, about 30 SR-72s. 

Austin wrote:

Mindstorm wrote:Aviationweek's level of information's control and accuracy has gone truly down vertically in the latest years .  

That for not say that ,some decades ago, "smoke and mirror" capabilities of US operatives was without any doubt immensely better than today.......in particular when the aim was to divert or conceal the true direction followed in the most strategically important military development programs........what a shame  .      

I dont get what you say Mindstorm.

AW&ST latest issue that covers US Hypersonic Program

http://in.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issue=416284053&e=true

I simply mean that cyclic reclycling of ,at best, "Vaporware" Crap......

http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:c7c40d1a-4bb2-4653-8dd9-40b6d05de309

.....only to attract momentary attention, well knowing where really move and aim US's sector of reference is neither correct neither professionally serious.

Not that this could have caught me totally surprised, taking into account that it is the same pubblication that lately has seen an AESA radar mounted on the Pantsyr-S1 at MAKS-2013  and that is totally incapable even only to distiguish between domestic and export denominations of products .


SR-72

This link has better details

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pictures-skunk-works-reveals-mach-60-sr-72-concept-392481/

Brad Leland, Skunk Works’ programme manager for hypersonics, tells Flightglobal in an interview.

“Adversaries are working on ways of countering stealth,” Leland says. “This is the counter to counter stealth. This is the way because when you come in both high and fast it’s all but impossible for our adversaries to intercept a vehicle or a missile like this. The time it takes to detect – and then try to intercept – we’ve gone by.”

In the 90's S-300PMU2 was advertised with a capable of dealing with target speed of upto Mach 8

http://www.enemyforces.net/missiles/s300pmu2.htm

So how does something like an object which travels at Mach 6 be it Hypersonic Missile or Aircraft avoid a S-300PMU2 like system assuming it in the effective range of the SAM ?

Do the manouver hard and follow unpredictable path at that speed ? Making computation to intercept such target all but impossible ? Or do they have other trick up their sleeve

that rlm-me is a monster!  larger aperture then even nebo-um.

GarryB wrote:Marketing of course keeps them invincible... Remember it is both stealthy and fast so when one is obviously not going to be effective then they pretend the other is the reason it will get through.

Actually it's not that bad of an idea. LO in RF bands coupled with high speed will serve to impair the reaction time of a radar-guided SAM system. The massive IR signature will obviously preclude the aircraft from actually being "stealthy" but the speed, RF LO and altitude combination will make a difference if done properly. Nobody should confuse this with the plane being invincible but assuming that it'll always be obliterated is just as ridiculous.

GarryB wrote:Can imagine in the future a whole lot of barrage balloons around Moscow at high altitude... they wont be hanging cables below them... they can be fitted with IR sensors and laser rangefinders and could drop buckets of nails in the path of incoming enemy hypersonic aircraft... the kinetic impact alone will do the job...

 

Go ahead, waste the money on that one! Russia defending against things that'd only overfly Russia in a major war is a waste of resources. Now, getting someone like Iran to pay for it and selling it to them: much better idea. Not that it'd be all that realistic anyway, but still.

GarryB wrote:BTW it will be amusing because the only altitude they could fly at hypersonic speeds would be very high altitudes, which means all those long wave radars will be ideal for spotting these new aircraft at max range.

Depends on how big it is. JSF or F-22 size? you'll find it. Closer to B-1B size? LO for the VHF-bands works a lot better.

GarryB wrote:Satellites could probably spot them from their heat signature... friction heated skin and engine exhaust...

Hell, a FLANKER could probably get an IRST hit at a few hundred miles.

SOC wrote:Depends on how big it is.  JSF or F-22 size?  you'll find it.  Closer to B-1B size?  LO for the VHF-bands works a lot better.

B-1B size would need huge amount of power to push it to sustained Mach 6.

Likely the bird will be SR-71 size or slightly larger as the propulsion looks more complicated and needs space.

It would still be a fantastic achievement still if they can achieve that Mach 6 and use it like normal aircraft similar to SR-71.

BTW wouldnt Mach 6 besides heating its skin and generating larget IR signature would also generate large turbulence that can be detected in long distance

Austin wrote:Likely the bird will be SR-71 size or slightly larger as the propulsion looks more complicated and needs space.

A bit larger than the SR-71 and you are getting close to B-1B size. The SR was 107 feet long, the Bone 146. Either way you're still likely closer to Bone size than JSF size.

The SR-72 if ever goes into production will be anything but stealthy because of the heat that such big aircraft will generate.
FLying at mach 6.. Major problems i see for the plane..

1)Will probably cost as much as a submarine the aircraft or even more several millions.
2)Latest S-300s and S-400s are hypersonic too and can shut it down ,since they made to target medium space
altitude ballistic missiles.based on wiki the S-400 speed is up to mach 12.0
3)By the time the SR-72 is in service 5-6 years.. an S-400 export version should be already operating in IRAN Venezuela and or Syria
,propably the major target of the American hypersonic drone. But also in many other countries.
4)Is very likely the plane will have to travel very linear trajectory at mach 6.0 over very long distances to not break in air
(Limitations that already was reported to happen with the SR-71 had at mach 3.0)
5)It is possible the plane will not be able to fly lower than mach 3.0.. and keep its high altitude. (The SR-71 had to keep a constant speed of mach 3.0 not higher to not blow the engines not lower to not fall from lower space orbit in order to continue)
6)At mach 3.0 the heat was so extreme in the SR-71 that it was said the plane had to be done in special plastics heat resistance materials ,and that the plane literary becomes larger in size when flying because of the heat. In the case of the SR-72 it could literary become a ball of fire to IR Sensors and even visible at clear nights by naked eye from the earth surface.. So probabilities it will be stealthy are not very high.
7)The way to intercept the plane could be endless.. From customized Mig-25 or Mig-31 launching hypersonic long range missiles ,
To designing Space mines..that implode by control remote.. At mach 6.0 even a small rock the size of a coin impacting the windshield of the plane will be catastrophic, or mini rockets with heavy fragmentation mounted on satellites or lazers.
8)Another issue the SR-72 will face is a legal one. There is a treaty between US and Russia to not deploy weapons that could be controlled from space..Since the drone will carry missiles ,it will end the pact ,and justify Russia to militarize the space and this will not be convenient for US. You could for example store free fall bombs or missiles with nuclear warhead in satellites and drop them at any country and they will never know what hit them or be able to predict effectively is trajectory for being launched from space.

Is worth to remember that Russia ICBMs like bulavas or topols speed in space in mach 22.0 and Russia practice a lot intercepting them with S-400s so the possibilities for the SR-72 to hide or evade Russia defenses are next to none. Unless US invented something radically new technology like Cold fusion engines or some kind of plasma shield that hides the plane IR and Radar signature.

However not all is negative ,Maybe US only wants to use their new space drones not to invade others countries space and spy on them,but instead as satellite hunter without getting close to any defense system. this could be a serious blow to any nation logistics and blind their communications.But for sure this can't be done unless there is a real world war 3 with nuclear weapons involved.

Vann7 wrote:

5)It is possible the plane will not be able to fly lower than mach 3.0.. and keep its high altitude. (The SR-71 had to keep a constant speed of mach 3.0 not higher to not blow the engines not lower to not fall from lower space orbit in order to continue)
6)At mach 3.0 the heat was so extreme in the SR-71 that it was said the plane had to be done in special plastics heat resistance materials ,and that the plane literary becomes larger in size when flying because of the heat. In the case of the SR-72 it could literary become a ball of fire to IR Sensors and even visible at clear nights by naked eye from the earth surface.. So probabilities it will be stealthy are not very high.
8)Another issue the SR-72 will face is a legal one. There is a treaty between US and Russia to not deploy weapons that could be controlled from space..Since the drone will carry missiles ,it will end the pact ,and justify Russia to militarize the space and this will not be convenient for US. You could for example store free fall bombs or missiles with nuclear warhead in satellites and drop them at any country and they will never know what hit them or be able to predict effectively is trajectory for being launched from space.

5. The SR-71 was capable of going faster than Mach 3.0 and did on occasion. The limiting factor was not Mach speed but compressor inlet temperature (CIT). Also, 85,000 feet or so is nowhere near lower space orbit.
6. They made Blackbirds out of titanium to handle the heat, and yes, they did grow about a foot or so during high-speed cruise due to the temperature involved. This is part of the reason why the jet leaked fuel on the ground so profusely.
8. Irrelevant, this thing is an air breather and therefore is not flying in space.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/features/2013/sr-72.html

http://aviationweek.com/awin-featured-story/exclusive-skunk-works-reveals-sr-71-successor-plan

The news nowadays are dominated mostly by Gaza's tragedy and genocide against palestinians, also in Ukraine, by russian-ukrainians ethnic-cleanning and slaughtering. These news are marked by agressive and barbaric western stance against Russia, uncommunly US'administration that are the sources of most of the problems in the world.
Hence, I had not enough time to take looks about technology.

Nevertheless, it is worth sometimes to see what's happenned, and what are  projects  in american's mind to overpower China and Russia.

Could SR-72 to overpower the future Mig-41 ?

There is almost no chance that it would be able to penetrate Russian air-defenses. The S-500 should be able to take care of it.

Also, the heat of the aircraft at hypersonic speeds would show up on IRST systems like a nuclear explosion.

No point in building a "Mig-41", interceptors are (currently) a thing of the past. Besides, the Russian aerospace industry is busy with the PAK-FA, newer variations of MiG's and Flankers, and the Fulcrum replacement. 

Russian aerospace is creating no Fulcrum replacement at the moment, actually.

A light modern fighter is far from decided. They might just go for a UCAV.