Lockheed Martin is developing the TR-X, the successor to the U-2 spy plane. The confirmation comes directly from the conference of the company that took place during the Air Force Association's. The TR-X will conduct intelligence operations at an altitude of 70.000 feet and could use the same propulsion system as the U-2, the F118.
After being in service for over 50 years, the U-2 will be withdrawn from service in the 2019. The Pentagon, waiting for a new specific platform, plans to bridge the gap with a combination of Global Hawk and Sentinel.
The TR-X will be equipped with the latest electronic warfare and communication systems: in this way the new carrier will be able to interface with fifth generation fighters. One of the fundamental characteristics of the TR-X, will be its ability to operate in the air space with impunity. One U-2 was shot down in the 1960 on Soviet territory and another in the 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis. The defensive concept of the 'Dragon Lady' was based on the ability to operate at high altitude, escaping enemy ground-to-air systems.
The latest generation stealth configuration could improve the aircraft's ability to conduct espionage operations with impunity, but the aerodynamic features of the low observability profile are hardly compatible for flying at such high altitudes. Even the same radar-absorbing materials, the same used on the U-2, represent an imperfect technology.
Lockheed Martin ended its conference with an announcement that silenced the room: the SR-71 Blackbird is still operational, with an unmanned version of the aircraft spying at hypersonic speed.
At least two SR-71 UAV platforms would have been operational for some time now ("Mom Mom, I saw a UFO ...).
(photo: Lockheed Martin)
