Lockheed Martin has recently unveiled significant details on technology, particularly on the SR-72 strike and reconnaissance aircraft. Serving as a successor to SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft, the SR-72 will be utilized by the United States Air Force in the coming years.

The hypersonic technology is the future of advanced aircraft development. That is why Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP) or also known as the Skunk Works are pushing their limits to provide the best aircraft for the use of DARPA and US Air Force.

In order to augment the air force of the United States, the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft will somehow be improved in the form of the SR-72. The said strike and reconnaissance aircraft will have a top speed of Mach 6, according to Futurism.

The improvement and utilization of the hypersonic technology have long been the goal of DARPA and its related departments. That is why almost 17 years after the planning stage and almost five years since the design stage, Lockheed Martin has finally announced updates on the SR-72.

"We've been saying hypersonics is two years away for the last 20 years, but all I can say is the technology is mature and we, along with DARPA and the services, are working hard to get that capability into the hands of our warfighters as soon as possible," Rob Weiss, Lockheed Martin's executive vice president and general manager for Skunk Works, told Aviation Week.

As of the current writing, there are no other details revealed by the Lockheed about their SR-72 project. It is expected that by 2030 the SR-72 will probably be operational, which is it is highly expected that more details are to be revealed in the coming months concerning the update on the said hypersonic technology.

Meanwhile, aside from a strike and reconnaissance aircraft, the advanced aircraft division may likely launch e full-scale development of a flight research vehicle (FRV). It is expected that such aircraft be similar in size to that of the F-22, which will possibly arrive in 2020.  

Watch here below SR-72 discussion: