Lockheed Martin's SR-72: new hypersonic successor to iconic SR-71 Blackbird still progresses.

On July 29, 2024, Aviation Week reported that Lockheed Martin’s classified program, likely related to the SR-72 hypersonic aircraft, encountered a budget overrun of $45 million in the second quarter of 2024. This financial update was detailed in Lockheed Martin’s quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 23, 2024. The total losses associated with this unnamed classified program have now reached approximately $335 million since 2022, highlighting the financial challenges faced during the project’s development.
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In 2021, a US Air Force video revealed a digital rendering of a hypersonic jet, potentially the SR-72 FRV, known as the “Son of the Blackbird.” (Picture source: PACE)

These budget overruns, coupled with "advanced procurement costs," suggest that Lockheed Martin is making substantial investments in the SR-72 project, potentially advancing it toward operational status. However, the company has acknowledged the uncertainties involved in such programs, emphasizing the variability in cost and time estimates, along with the technical challenges that can arise within the company and among its suppliers. These factors contribute to the financial risks Lockheed Martin is managing in this complex project.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing noted that the classified program within Lockheed’s Aeronautics business segment has faced periodic performance issues, primarily due to the complex design and systems integration challenges typical of advanced aerospace projects. These challenges are similar to those encountered during the development of the SR-71 Blackbird, adding to speculation that this project may involve the SR-72, a hypersonic aircraft or a similar high-speed vehicle.

In the second quarter of 2024, Lockheed Martin reported an additional $45 million loss, attributed to higher-than-expected costs necessary to maintain program objectives. The company continues to monitor technical requirements, the remaining work, potential changes in scope or schedule, and the estimated costs to complete the program. Further losses may be recorded in future periods if additional performance issues, scope increases, or cost escalations occur. Lockheed Martin appears to anticipate that the Pentagon will recognize the strategic importance of this platform and may provide the necessary funding to offset these losses—a strategy previously observed within the company’s Skunk Works division, known for developing advanced aircraft aligned with projected military needs, sometimes before securing formal contracts.

The SR-71 Blackbird was developed as a black project by Lockheed's Skunk Works division in the 1960s, based on the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft. (Picture source: US DoD)

Since 2021, there have been indications that a large-scale production program, potentially linked to the SR-72, is underway at Lockheed’s Skunk Works division. In August 2021, Lockheed opened a new production facility at Skunk Works headquarters in Palmdale, California, known as Building 648. This facility, where much of the SR-72 development is believed to be taking place, was designed to streamline aircraft production using advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics. At the facility’s opening, Lockheed noted its ability to 3D-print composite aerostructures and assemble them using non-deterministic structural methods—technological advances that were not available during the development of the SR-71 Blackbird.

In 2022, Lockheed Martin reported a $225 million pre-tax loss related to a classified aeronautics program. This program was later linked to the SR-72, suggesting that the SR-72 may be transitioning from development to low-rate production.

Additional evidence of the SR-72’s progression appeared on May 31, 2022, when Safran Landing Systems Canada Inc. announced a contract from Lockheed to design and qualify a landing gear structure for a "future aircraft," involving a clean-sheet design of the nose and main landing gear. The requirement to design new landing gear is typically associated with production programs rather than one-off demonstrators, suggesting that the project is in an advanced stage and possibly nearing production readiness.

Moreover, the workforce at Lockheed’s Palmdale facility has expanded significantly, with over 5,500 employees reported as of September 2023, more than doubling since 2018. John Clark, the general manager of Skunk Works, confirmed that production had resumed, though he did not specify the project being built. This increase in workforce and the resumption of production activities may indicate that Lockheed is engaged in a significant production phase, possibly for the SR-72 or a related project.

Further indications about the SR-72 emerged in late 2023 when Vago Muradian, editor-in-chief of Defense & Aerospace Report, mentioned a highly advanced reconnaissance aircraft developed by Skunk Works that had already been delivered. This aircraft, believed to be the SR-72, is reportedly undergoing re-scoping to address technical challenges, a process that aligns with the budgetary overruns reported by Lockheed Martin.

The origins of the SR-72 project, often referred to as the "Son of Blackbird," can be traced back to November 2013, when Aviation Week’s Senior Editor, Guy Norris, reported that Skunk Works was developing a hypersonic successor to the SR-71 Blackbird, known as the SR-72, to meet the U.S. military’s need for rapid-response reconnaissance and strike capabilities. Following increased geopolitical tensions, particularly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced new hypersonic weapons, the SR-72 program’s details became more opaque, leading to speculation that the project had entered a classified phase.

Therefore, the SR-72 is likely to fit within the broader framework of a Long-Range Strike Family of Systems, which was first outlined in 2010 and further developed by Maj. Gen. Dave Scott in 2021. This system would likely include the B-21 Raider, a new bomber developed from the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program, as well as a new cruise missile, a hypersonic missile (potentially the Mako, another Lockheed Martin project), and other systems such as the Penetrating Stand-in Airborne Electronic Attack (P-AEA) and Penetrating Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (P-ISR) systems.

The SR-72 will be powered by an innovative turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine, allowing it to transition from subsonic to supersonic to hypersonic speeds, potentially reaching Mach 6 or higher—twice the speed of the SR-71, which flew at Mach 3.2. (Picture source: US DoD)

The SR-72 concept is reported to be powered by a turbine-based, combined-cycle propulsion system, including both a turbofan and a scramjet. By 2017, Norris suggested that the technology had advanced to the point where flight testing was possible, with an F-22-sized, optionally piloted vehicle ready to enter development. Unlike its predecessor, which was limited to reconnaissance missions, the SR-72 is designed to serve as both an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) asset and a strike platform.

According to available information, the SR-72 will be powered by an innovative turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine, which integrates a traditional turbine engine with a scramjet, allowing it to transition from subsonic to supersonic to hypersonic speeds, potentially reaching Mach 6 or higher—twice the speed of the SR-71, which flew at Mach 3.2.

By 2018, Lockheed Martin had reportedly completed testing on the TBCC propulsion system, and there were reports of a prototype, known as the Flight Research Vehicle (FRV) and associated with the SR-72, being tested over Palmdale, California.

The SR-72 project faces significant technical challenges, particularly in materials science, due to the extreme temperatures the aircraft would encounter at hypersonic speeds. Lockheed Martin has indicated confidence in addressing these challenges, drawing on their experience with DARPA’s Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2), which provided relevant insights applicable to the SR-72.

As the hypersonic arms race intensifies, with competitors like Atlanta-based startup Hermeus also pursuing similar technologies, it seems increasingly likely that the United States will field a reusable hypersonic aircraft in the near future. Lockheed Martin’s involvement in the SR-72 development and production could position the company as a significant player in this emerging field. If brought into service, the SR-72 could provide the U.S. military with enhanced capabilities in both reconnaissance and strike operations compared to the SR-71, with an expected service entry by 2030.