gatt wrote:

"Bill Shatzer" wrote in message
...

Mach 3 and 80,000 feet is no longer required. The satellites and UAVs/RPVs
are more than adequate.

Theoretically a UAV/RPV could fly within those parameters if it was built to
do so, and you wouldn't have to muck with the weight and duration issues of
human life support. Altitude isn't necessary but the speed at which an
aircraft can get to a target must have tactical value.

Whatever "tactical value" might be confered by the SR-71's speed was
negated by the time required to prepare it for operations - nearly 24
hours if I recall correctly.

Those things weren't sitting on the runway on 15-minute alert.

If you're trying to do reconnaissance of time-sensitive targets, better
a Mach 0.8 vehicle which can be launched with an hour's notice rather
than a Mach 3.0 vehicle which takes a full day to prepare for launch.

I can't imagine that such an aircraft isn't being developed already.

Well, perhaps newer technology can do better with the launch time
problem but there really doesn't seem any need at all for Mach 3.0 and
lots of reasons to avoid the costs and engineering pitfalls associated
with designing such a thing.

And -if- such thing is being developed, it's gonna be a subsonic UAV
similar to DarkStar rather than a manned Mach 3.0 aircraft like the SR-71.

Peace and justice,