America might possess secret fastest ever jet capable of hypersonic speeds at Mach 5+
- The SR-91 Aurora aircraft is the fastest ever jet
- If it exists, it’s thought to be capable of hypersonic speeds
- It’s rumored to be a reconnaissance aircraft for the US military
Published on Feb 23, 2024 at 9:02 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Feb 26, 2024 at 6:37 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
Aurora, also known as SR-91 Aurora aircraft is the fastest hypersonic jet you’ve probably ever heard of – and it’s capable of unprecedented speeds.
Thought to be capable of Mach 5+, the fighter jet is a rumored reconnaissance aircraft for the US military.
The story is that it was created in the 1980s or 1990s by Lockheed’s Skunk Works, now the Lockheed Advanced Development Company.
READ MORE! Video shows inside commercial plane that accidentally flew faster than the speed of sound
That’s the same company who recently developed NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft.
It was said to be taking the place of SR-71 Blackbird, which was aging and costly.
But does the SR-91 Aurora, capable of Mach 6 performance actually exist?
Evidence includes footage of a triangular plane over the North Sea in August 1989 by oil-exploration engineer, Chris Gibson.
The famous ‘sky quakes’ heard over Los Angeles since the early 1990s are also thought to point to its activity.
It’s thought the SR-91 Aurora aircraft was bound for the secret Groom Lake in Area 51.
However, like Area 51, its existence has been routinely denied by US officials.
While its name nor existence have ever been revealed, it first came to light via a censor’s slip in 1985.
The hypersonic jet appeared below the SR-71 Blackbird and U-2 in a Pentagon budget request.
Even if that were the hypersonic jet’s original name, it would have been changed following such a major compromise.
‘Black programs’ or Special Access Programs (SAPs) such as these are highly secretive.
On 6 March 1990, one of the United States Air Force’s (USAF) Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy planes shattered the official air speed record from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles Airport.
The SR-71 was retired to save the $200-$300 million a year it cost to operate the fleet.
Reporters were told the plane had been made redundant by sophisticated satellites – like this one that was used to track the climate and is now due to return to earth after 30 years in orbit.
A British Ministry of Defence report released in May 2006 refers to USAF priority plans to produce a Mach 4-6 highly supersonic vehicle, per Defense Aviation.
But there’s no conclusive evidence for this.
It’s thought the Aurora project may have been cancelled due to a shift from spy-planes to high-tech unmanned aerial vehicles and reconnaissance satellites.
These do the same, but eliminate the risk of casualties.
Some of the images for this article were created using AI.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
