SoCal sonic boom: Calling card of the top-secret Aurora spy plane?

[unhappycamper]

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-aurora-spy-plane-sonic-boom-southern-california-20140409,0,1377864.story

SoCal sonic boom: Calling card of the top-secret Aurora spy plane?
By Paul Whitefield
April 10, 2014, 5:04 a.m.

~snip~

In December, ExtremeTech reported on its website: “Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has confirmed that it is developing the SR-72 spy plane. The successor to the SR-71 Blackbird, which was capable of Mach 3.5, the SR-72 will be a hypersonic unmanned aircraft capable of Mach 6, or just over 4,500 mph….

“At the moment, the SR-72 is still only a concept, though Lockheed has now confirmed that the plane is in active development. An optionally piloted scale version of the plane with a single engine will be built in 2018, with test flights scheduled for 2023.”

OK, so there’s that. There will be a Mach 6 airplane.

Or, is there already a Mach 6 airplane, and Wednesday’s boom was its loud calling card?

[ladjf]

1. This airplane when completed will be one of the first major advancements in aircraft

technology since the Concorde. nt