Was America’s Top Secret Aurora Spy Plane Real?

For decades, rumors have swirled about Aurora, a top-secret hypersonic reconnaissance aircraft rumored to succeed the SR-71 Blackbird. Despite no definitive proof of its existence, intriguing evidence has kept the legend alive.

Myth, Mystery, or Reality?

The retirement of the SR-71 Blackbird in 1989 fueled speculation about a need for a successor. While satellites provide valuable intelligence, airborne reconnaissance remains essential. Aurora was rumored to be a triangular, hypersonic aircraft, potentially linked to Lockheed Martin’s SR-72 program. However, the SR-71 was briefly un-retired, casting doubt on whether Aurora ever became operational.

Evidence as a Technology Demonstrator

In 1992, seismologists recorded unusual tremors in California’s San Gabriel Valley, resembling sonic booms from a high-altitude supersonic aircraft. These events occurred every Thursday morning at 7 AM. Defense expert Bill Sweetman noted that the booms didn’t match any known aircraft, theorizing they might originate from a classified program at Groom Lake (Area 51). The Air Force denied these claims.

Eyewitness Accounts

The most famous sighting occurred in 1989 when Scottish engineer Chris Gibson reported seeing a triangular aircraft refueling alongside two F-111s over the North Sea. As a trained aircraft observer, Gibson was confident it didn’t match any known aircraft.

In another incident, a 1994 aviation magazine reported a crash at Boscombe Down Airfield involving an American aircraft, allegedly named the Advanced Stealth Reconnaissance Aircraft (ASTRA). Two days later, a C-5 cargo plane reportedly arrived to transport the wreckage back to the US.

Debunking the Legend

In 1994, Ben Rich, former head of Lockheed’s Skunk Works, revealed in his memoir that “Aurora” was simply a code name for funding related to the B-2 program. Rich stated, “There is no code name for the plane as it simply did not exist.”

Was Aurora Real?

After two decades of examining sightings, sonic booms, and unexplained budget anomalies, Bill Sweetman concluded in 2006 that there’s evidence suggesting Aurora may have existed—at least as a program.

The truth remains elusive. Is Aurora a cleverly guarded secret, or merely a persistent myth? At this point… who knows?