SPEED IS THE NEW STEALTH
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a strategic reconnaissance aircraft that was operated by the United States Air Force from 1964 to 1998. After a Soviet surface-to-air missle showdown with the US in Sverdlovsk in 1960, the US designed an aircraft that could fly higher and faster than any missile or fighter that was launched against it. The SR-71 was closer to a spaceship than it is an aircraft, made of titanium to withstand the high temperatures of flying over 2,200mph. It was developed by Lockheed Martin as a black project and to this day is the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft ever created to soar the skies.
- FAMOUS PILOTS: KELLY JOHNSON
- WHERE FLOWN: N. VIETNAM, LAOS
- FIRST FLIGHT: 22 DECEMBER 1964
- RETIRED: 9 OCTOBER 1999
HISTORIAL
- WINGSPAN: 55FT 7IN
- LENGTH: 107FT 5IN
- MAX MACH SPEED: 3.3 (2,200+MPH)
- ALTITUDE RECORD: 85,069FT
- MISSIONS: 3,551
SPECIFICATIONS
The CIA created coverup companies which were used to purchase the required Titanium for the construction of Blackbirds from the Soviet Union.
Pilots required pressurized flight suits to cope with the low atmospheric pressure and lack of oxygen at high altitudes.
A total of 3,551 mission sorties were flown to spy on military installations, troop movements and nuclear silos during the cold war with Soviet Union.