Even as we’re uncertain about the SR-72’s nickname, what it will look like, or if it will reach speeds anywhere near Mach 10, there are assumptions we can make about the super hush-hush aircraft. One of those assumptions is what sort of engines and fuel the SR-72 will use to fly, and rumor has it the jet will boast some serious next-gen tech when it takes to the skies.
Though we don’t know what the Skunk Works team is conjuring for the SR-72’s engines, the jet is rumored to be powered by Turbine-Based Combined-Cycle Hypersonic Engines, an air-breathing design that utilizes turbofan engines in tandem with a supersonic combustion ramjet that should help the SR-72 push Mach 5, and yes, potentially even Mach 10. Per a 2013 interview with Skunk Works portfolio manager Bradley Leland, the engines will likely also use the same exotic JP-7 fuel that powered the plane’s predecessor, the famed SR-71 Blackbird.
The Blackbird was, of course, long known as the fastest plane on the planet. Assuming the SR-72 is equipped with those advanced hypersonic engines, the JP-7 fuel should easily make them faster. However, a decade has passed since Leland made those claims, and it’s not unlikely that the Skunk Works team has maybe cooked up another angle in the ensuing years.
