That's correct however you're thinking of the MiG-25, that was the high speed/altitude interceptor, the MiG-29 was their answer to the F-16.
Aurora Spy plane
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That's correct however you're thinking of the MiG-25, that was the high speed/altitude interceptor, the MiG-29 was their answer to the F-16.
Interesting topic.
As regards former RAF Machrihanish, my late Dad was based there as one of his RAF tours, we were there three years at the hight of all the mystery and when the Americans were there too, this was about 1969 to 1972 ish and I would have been ages 10 to 13 ish, the military housing was around 60/40 shared with RAF and USA military familys and it was good growing up with American kids of my age, made good friends at that time.
Its common knowledge what was going on there at that time (Primarily at least) and that was nuclear weapon storage, possible launch site too and the Americans obviously had a vested interest in the base because of that, Navy Seals were based there for a while, it was very heavily guarded. You just need to look at Google Earth to see the obvious silo sites towards the beach, we'd also see low loader trucks enter the base from time to time, with military escort and the contents of the long truck trailors well covered over.
Pretty sure the base had other uses too as the OP here suspects, its true the runway is ridiculously long and also there were never any aircraft based there when we were there, US or American that you would normally associate with an RAF base, just the odd helo perhaps, but you'd often see visiting Hercules transports and helicopters coming and going. RAF Machrihanish had and still has one of the larger hanger types, (the gaydon type) stupid name I know
and it sticks out like a sore thumb, its also true that the MOD still pay for the base on a care and maintenance basis and the only reason they would do that is that they might need it again.One reason for the extra long runway was because it had been earmarked as a possible emergency landing site for the Shuttle Orbiter, there were several such sites earmarked around the planet on allied soil, that makes sense to me.
I did hear sonic booms a few times and I'd ask my Dad about it, but he was true blue RAF and dodged the question every time, its possible he never knew either but would definitely had to sign the official secrets act as did every one who worked there apparently.
Looking back I strongly suspect the sonic booms came from an SR-71, Machrihanish on the Argyll peninsula is about as remote as it gets, perfect place for the military to use and test exotic war toys IMHO.
I went back a few years back for a nostalgia visit and also to look at Campbelltown where I schooled for years along with the American kids based there, the base still is fenced off for the important parts, even though its a civilian airport now and lots of official secrets act signs and MOD signs too, Campbelltown is realy run down now, the local shops must have loved the RAF and US being there, it was sad to see ... took some pics of that visit if anyone is interested to see.
Associate
It's a brilliant book, and along the same lines, are some of the books by Joseph P Farrell, mainly Reich of the Black Sun, and The SS Brotherhood of the Bell.
As and aside, my father worked for Boeing / Lockheed as a defense contractor in the 80's and 90's. He made frequent visits to the Skunkworks sites when I was young and had a fairly high security clearance, with a strict NDA. He worked on the B2, F117, and F22 projects before moving onto more civilian projects within Boeing.
After reading The Hunt for Zero Point and the works of Dr Farrell, I asked my father about some of the advanced technologies that Nick Cook claimed were used with the B2 (The term used in the book was "electrogravatics, if I remember correctly), and my father got awfully quiet and sort of dodged the question by saying there was some "pretty awesome stuff" at work in the B2 and changing the subject. He did always mention when I was a child, however that the technology military contractors have access to far surpassed what was available to civilians, and in some cases by as much as three or four generations.
Fascinating stuff.
Never heard of GlobalChickhen. Care to expand on it?
I am guessing it isn't KFC.
But to answer the original question.
I honestly don't know if there is an Aurora / SR-72 Plane.
But I have every confidence that America is working on multiple supersonic prototype planes, when or if we'll every officially know of them, who knows...
Saying that there is ample evidence, that objects are traveling at supersonic speeds, across america and other parts of the world.
There is a military need for such planes, given america's agenda to push it's brand of liberty and freedom across the world.
And there is the technical and theoretical methods to achieve such speeds.
So time will tell on that front.
The one project I am most intrigued be is Skylon.
A join project with America and the UK, to build a SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit) Plane.
Capable of taking off and flying like a conventional plane at about Mach 5-7 using air. Then switching to a compressed air and hydrogen mixture to achieve low earth orbit.
Potentially a similar usage and capacity as the Space shuttle, but significantly cheaper per flight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylon_(spacecraft)
you might be intersted in the boeing x37
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37
Soldato
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Isnt the answer to why the us never replaced the sr71 more to do with the total dominance of satellites and the massive cost of the air based surveillance program more than secrecy of their replacement.
I mean theyre open enough that the u2 still occasionally sees service in the war on terror.
I mean theyre open enough that the u2 still occasionally sees service in the war on terror.
Soldato
Google it.
The thing is, the SR-71 was an incredibly niche thing, in order for it to be worth sending the target country had to be an enemy of the USA which was capable of shooting down a U2 but incapable of shooting down the SR-71, so basically just China.
If it was possible to send the U2 then it made sense to send the U2 as that was cheaper and safer (37.5% of SR-71's were lost due to mechanical failure).
Replacing the SR-71 with a plane fast enough to fly over the USSR simply wasn't a possibility during the cold war, and thus no replacement was made, and today we have satellites that can do the job with zero risk.
One thing you can be sure about is that technology exists far beyond that which is found a public website for a company like Lockheed Martin.
Care to elaborate, or should I Google it?
Googling would only reveal speculation. I'm suggesting technology is being developed/used which is more advanced than you or I could fathom.
If it were 1965 and I told you of the abilities of the SR-71 (still to this day, the fastest known manned aircraft), you would have laughed it off as rubbish-talk. The SR-71 was top secret in 1965, so 50 years later - what's top secret now?
Soldato
Permabanned
That Scottish airbase is perfectly positioned to receive flights from the USA in complete secrecy.
Soldato
Yeah, had a look on Google Earth after reading about it in here.
Associate
Exactly this. Again, alluding to what my father used to say. Military research is three or four technological generations above the most cutting edge commercially available technology.
The SR-72?
I thought it was the iSR-71 nowadays.
Soldato
Source?
Soldato
^Apple 
Soldato