Lockheed confident of being able to build a 4600 mph spyplane drone in 2018

Lockheed Martin says hypersonic technologies are now sufficiently mature to enable progress towards a flight demonstrator.

In March 2016, Lockheed CEO Hewson stated that the company was on the verge of a technological breakthrough that would allow its conceptual SR-72 hypersonic plane to reach Mach 6. A hypersonic demonstrator aircraft the size of an F-22 stealth fighter could be built for less than $1 billion.

The 4600mph SR-72 unmanned drone could have a flying prototype in 2018.