SR-71 Pilots Tale - Major Brian Shul

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Only now are these technologies coming out of the black world. Pentagon's 2009 budget request includes $750M for the DARPA HTV-3X Mach 6+ hypersonic vehicle. First flight is FY2012.

Hmmmm.... That's awfully quick turnaround for such "high risk technologies" that supposedly have never seen the light of day. ;)
 
Here's a mockup from the DARPA announcement as posted in March 10 AvWeek.
 

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Why was she retired matt?

The ostensible reason she was retired was rising maintenance costs (the newest SR airframe is/was over 30 years old), fewer spare parts supplies, and a lack of meaningful strategic targets for the -71 to surveille since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, there are others who suspect that there was more to it than that; that perhaps there is already a more advanced strategic surveillance platform in operation (Aurora?). There is very little evidence for this, and more evidence to the contrary, but that doesn't stop people from speculating.
 
Twas a great aircraft, a tad bit expensive, but effective. I heard from an unconfermed source that the US was testing an uma with mach 10 capabilities (like stated above), not to mention the U-2 along with spy satillites provide effective intel.
 

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