Here we go again.

Anyone else remember the years before the F-117 Nighthawk was publicly revealed? I do. There were “fly-bys ” at all the airshows I went to by the then rumored “stealth fighter” where the sound of a jet flying by was played over the public address system while nothing was visible. I have the feeling we’ll see the same thing start to happen all over again.

Defensenews.com is reporting that the Lockheed Skunkworks has been awarded a contract for an aircraft to fly at speeds of Mach 6.5 and altitudes of 100,000 feet. It’s being reported that it wll likely be unmanned and the possiblilty exists that it could carry weapons instead of reconnaisance sensors.

Of course, this contract is reported to be classified. No way to know if it’s true and Lockheed is giving the usual “no comment”.

If anyone has the credentials to justify being awarded this contract, it’s the Skunkworks. Thier past products include the F-117 Nighthawk, the Blackbird family of aircraft (A-12, YF-12A, SR-17, M-21, and the D-21 “Tagboard” drone), the U-2 Dragonlady, the F-104 Starfighter, and the WWII P-38 Lightning among many others.

Rumors still abound about “Project Aurora” and there are also rumors of “Project Black Star” operating out of Groom Lake, AKA Area 51.

Is the SR-72 contract real? Have Aurora and Black Star been flying out of an installation just a short distance north of Las Vegas? Good questions. Part of me wants to know, but more of me wants the enemy to wonder along with me.

Hat tip to Steeljaw Scribe