SR-91 Aurora: a name that sounds like a legend, a shadow that crosses the skies at stratospheric speeds. I'm telling you about a hypersonic spy plane that, officially, doesn't exist. But the rumors are too persistent, the details too specific to be mere fantasies. So, dear readers, let's put on our tinfoil hats and delve into the mystery surrounding this enigmatic aircraft.
The historical context
Born as the presumed successor to the unforgettable SR-71 Blackbird,SR-91 Aurora it would have been conceived in none other than the 80s. Lockheed Martin, through its Skunk Works division, is the prime suspect behind this top-secret project. But what do we really know? Not much, to be honest. And this is exactly what intrigues us. This little, however, has its reason: between sonic booms over Los Angeles, sightings of triangular planes over the North Sea (no, they are not little gray men) and mysterious “black holes” in military budgets. These are just some of the clues that fuel the legend of the Aurora. A 2006 British Ministry of Defense report even mentioned priority USAF plans to produce a “highly supersonic vehicle.” This, of course, proves nothing. Not even after DARPA and the USAF signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2007 to build an unmanned aircraft that flies at Mach-6 speeds called “Blackswift” under the Force Application and Launch from Continental United States program. But then, what are we talking about?
The public debate
Bill Sweetman, a well-known military aviation writer, has spent years examining military budgets and discovered a $9 billion “black hole” that could very well fund a project like the Aurora. And he's not the only one. Many other experts and enthusiasts have tried to connect the dots, but the wall of silence is difficult to penetrate.
And so, a bit of ethical conspiracy: this "tug of war" on UAPs between various parts of the US administration could be the attempt to get to the bottom of a much more pressing mystery than that of the alleged flying saucers. Let's talk about the use of large slush funds to make secret weapons. Or projects, very expensive, then abandoned. This may, in fact, be the end of the SR-91 Aurora. Between existing and not existing, the probability is that it existed but was "aborted" in favor of even more advanced projects. Or simply because it is infeasible: we're talking about a plane capable of going from Washington to Beijing in less than an hour and a half, after all. Or, if you prefer, from Rome to New York in 55 minutes.
If not Aurora, what?
Recently, Lockheed Martin hinted at the existence of aircraft faster than the SR-71. He even "played" with it at the cinema, with the blockbuster remake of "Top Gun". In the film, the pilot played by Tom Cruise flies a plane with incredible speed (Mach-10) designed by the US military company. Who then congratulates the film's staff for the film awards won. Could the drawings of the “fake” plane in the film represent a glimpse of an abandoned project, or a future project? Could it be the Aurora or perhaps another even more secret project?
Maybe one day we will have definitive answers, but until then, we will continue to search, to ask and, above all, to imagine. Because, ultimately, it is curiosity that pushes us forward, in the constant search for the truth. And if we have to play conspiracy games every now and then, to clear our minds, let's take it for what it is: a game. The drama comes when we move from the drawings to the real aircraft.
