Aircraft
TR-X: The Skunk Works Studies A New High-Altitude Jet
Lockheed Martin is spending company funds on a U-2 replacement that could be multi-mission.
This artists’ impression of the TR-X is notional, since the Skunk Works has only just begun studying a new, stealthy, high-altitude platform. (image: Lockheed Martin)
This artists’ impression of the TR-X is notional, since the Skunk Works has only just begun studying a new, stealthy, high-altitude platform. (image: Lockheed Martin)

The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works has revealed plans for a next-generation, high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform that could replace the U-2 and Global Hawk from 2025. The company has launched an internally-funded study of a stealthy jet designated the TR-X that might also carry alternative payloads such as a high-energy laser, or for electronic warfare. Lockheed Martin (LM) believes that a U.S. requirement for the TR-X could emerge within the next 18 months.