"Gordon" wrote in message
ups.com...
Why not start with the ultimate 50s-60s-70s aircraft? Take an SR-71
and do wizard stuff to that - it would have some amazing possibilites
if it were built with everything available today. It would end up
needing docking capability for refueling from the ISS!

v/r Gordon


What modern engines would you fit to an SR-71 that would not destroy its
aerodynamic profile yet enable it to work both in the earth's atmosphere and
outside it?
Such engines don't at the moment exist. The scramjets being tested are built
into the aerodynamic structure of the craft so are out of the question given
the restrictions you have been handed, adding rocket motors to the SR-71
would be impractical (you might mount one on the top of the fuselage where
the old drone attachments are situated I guess, but I doubt that would drive
it up to over 200km altitude).
Vacuum sealing the fueltanks and avionics bays would also be a major
problem, certainly if you don't want to replace the entire airframe
structure and panelling with different materials.

Let's try a more modest approach, the TSR.2.
Fit it with the avionics and weapons systems of the F/A-18E/F or F-35 and
the engines of the F-22, add some RAM to critical areas (leading edges
mainly), and I think you have a rather interesting ground attack/penetration
strike platform with limited multi-role capabilities.