Does SR-91 Aurora fighter aircraft really exist?

Question

I heard that it was going to be a replacement for supersonic SR-71 Blackbirds ( making speeds of over Mach 5).

http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/aircraft_carriers/uss_abraham_lincoln_cvn_72_filming_stealth.htm

Answer 1

JohnB, can you just tell my mother-in-law?

Answer 2

To be honest I don't know, I'm not on the project or in the government where I have access to that type of information, but Popular Science has a link of what it might look like at http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-...  They even have an old article on possible weapons being developed at Area 51, it's like two years old but it can be found here: http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-...

Answer 3

YES! Here is a picture!!!:::

http://chrish6.files.wordpress.com/2007/...

http://chrish6.files.wordpress.com/2007/...

http://chrish6.files.wordpress.com/2007/...

http://chrish6.files.wordpress.com/2007/...

Answer 4

I'm sorry that this is such a long answer, but there is a lot to say. I hope this helps. I think it's unlikely that the plane exists, at least as a replacement for the SR-71, and It's also very unlikely that we wouldn't know about a replacement for the SR-71, especially with all the time that's passed. There are a few reasons for this. One, we'd be talking about an equally large plane that would be just as hard to hide. With no "evil empire" to hide it from, why keep it a secret? Our most advanced aerospace projects like the F-22 are publicly visible because there is no big enemy to hide them from and it's much more expensive to do so. In fact, in the absence of an enemy, such projects are very prestigious and are a good thing to publicize. The other major things to consider are cost, alternatives, and performance. These are all reason given for the SR-71's retirement and good reasons to be wary of a replacement. The cost in the 1980's of operating the SR-71 fleet was around 250 million dollars. Adjust that for inflation and you have roughly 800 million in costs today. That's pretty hefty, especially without that "evil empire" justifying it. A replacement for the Habu would very likely be even more expensive. With alternatives like progressively more effective recon sattelites in larger numbers and covering a larger area, an expensive plane seems less and less prudent when you're needing it less and less.

But the thing all of this hinges on and still another reason secrecy would be incredibly difficult. What can it do? Can it do anything aside from taking pictures? The SR-71 ran at mach 3.5 at around 80,000 ft altitude. "Aurora" is widely thought to travel at around mach 5 or 6 at 100,000 ft or more. That's where the atmosphere ends and space begins. Any plane traveling at such speeds and altitude really is a spaceplane. It might not make orbit, but it would be able to leave the atmosphere and travel halfway around the world. Something so incredible and so expensive would not just be a photo recon plane. This is really significant in regards to secrecy because a military space plane could carry weapons, take out sattelites, carry new satellites up, and do any number of things without set launch facilities which would make for a lot more versatility than rockets. In fact, the only reason to go faster than the SR-71 is to start working in space. Remember, though, that all of this would be so incredibly expensive that keeping it a secret would be next to impossible. I've got to give a nod to the other side, though. All of this capability and cost might make secrecy really difficult, but it does give a good reason for it. Such capability might be important to keep under wraps, especially if it could possibly violate any treaties.

The important thing to remember is that the whole idea is really far-fetched. While it's existence is possible, I don't think that the Aurora exists because it is too huge a thing to hide for so long. This thing has been rumored to exist for more than twenty years through several presidential administrations, terms of congress, and military administrations and nothing has come out. Given the awesome capabilities we're talking about, it's very unlikely even a spaceplane would be kept secret this long. Aurora is a ghost of the cold war.

P.S. Normally I'd e-mail you, but that's blocked. What did those pictures and the site they're on have to do with this question, anyway?

Answer 5

if it does we won't know about it till they absolutly have to tell us or they have replaced it with something better

Answer 6

i could tell ya, but then i'd have to kill ya.

Answer 7

There was some confusion over whether photos taken on an aircraft carrier were of the Aurora. However, these photos turned out to be of a movie prop taken during the filming of Stealth. That aircraft is the fictional F/A-37 Talon multi-role fighter of the U.S. Navy. The Talon and Unmanned Combat Ariel Vehicle, Extreme Deep Invader (UCAV, EDI) also were capable of achieving hypersonic speeds by using their "Swarm Logic" commands; the aircraft would collapse protruding edges and hording together in a "pierce/draft" diamond or triangle formation.

ahem?