Lockheed Martin SR-72 Lockheed Martin SR-72 The Lockheed Martin SR-72 is an American hypersonic UAV concept intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Lockheed Martin privately proposed it to succeed the retired Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The SR-71 Blackbird retired in 1998, leaving what was considered a coverage gap between surveillance satellites, manned aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions. With the growth of anti-satellite weapons, anti-access/area denial tactics, and counter-stealth technologies, a high-speed aircraft could penetrate protected airspace and observe or strike a target before enemies could detect or intercept it. The proposed reliance on extremely high
Raytheon for $490 million. In October 2014, Raytheon beat rivals Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for a contract to build 3DELRR, a next-generation long-range radar system, for the US Air Force worth an estimated $1 billion. This contract award was immediately protested by Raytheon's competitors, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. After re-evaluating the bids following these protests, the US Air Force decided to delay awarding the 3DELRR EMD contract until 2017, and was to issue an amended solicitation at the end of July 2016. In May 2015, Raytheon acquired cybersecurity firm Websense, Inc. from Vista Equity Partners for $1.9 billion and