The Blackbirds Pratt & Whitney J58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner to facilitate cruise at supersonic speeds. 3. [81] Initially, the TEOCs could not match the resolution of the A-12's larger camera, but rapid improvements in both the camera and film improved this performance. ", "SR-71 Pilot Interview Richard Graham Veteran Tales", "SR-71 Online - SR-71 Flight Manual: Section 4, Page 4-86", "SR-71 Online - SR-71 Flight Manual: Section 4, Page 4-99", "SR-71 Online - SR-71 Flight Manual: Section 4, Page 4-123", "SR-71 Online - SR-71 Flight Manual: Section 4, Page 4-129", "SR-71 Online - SR-71 Flight Manual: Section 4, Page 4-132", "SR-71 Online - SR-71 Flight Manual: Section 4, Page 4-146", "First man to fly the world's fastest aircraft dies in Rancho Mirage", "SR-71 Pilot Interview Richard Graham, Veteran Tales interview at Frontiers of Flight Museum (at 1:02:55)", "Memorandum for the Chairman, Sanitization and Decontrol Working Group Black Shield Photography", "Bye Bye U-2: CIA Legend Allen Predicts End Of Manned Reconnaissance", "SPIONFLY, DEN KALDE KRIGEN - Spionfly landet i Bod", "TV: Krnvapenskra bunkern styrde flygplanen", "4 Swedish JA-37 Viggen pilots receives medals for SR-71 Blackbird rescue operation 1987 Part:1/2", "4 Swedish JA-37 Viggen pilots receives medals for SR-71 Blackbird rescue operation 1987 Part:2/2", "SR-71 World Record Speed and Altitude Flights", "A-12, YF-12A, & SR-71 Timeline of Events", "Spy Plane Sets Speed Record, Then Retires. The addition of chines also allowed the removal of the planned canard foreplanes. In the early years of operation, the analog computers would not always keep up with rapidly changing flight environmental inputs. Supersonic flights generally lasted no more than 90 minutes before the pilot had to find a tanker. The SR-71 also holds the "speed over a recognized course" record for flying from New York to Londondistance 3,461.53 miles (5,570.79km), 1,806.964 miles per hour (2,908.027km/h), and an elapsed time of 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 secondsset on 1 September 1974, while flown by USAF pilot James V. Sullivan and Noel F. Widdifield, reconnaissance systems officer (RSO). [38], The Blackbird's tires, manufactured by B.F. Goodrich, contained aluminum and were filled with nitrogen. The one record that it still holds is a cross-country flight, zipping from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in just 64 minutes 20 seconds. Clarence Kelly Johnsonand Francis Gary Powers have a discussion with an early U-2 aircraft behind them. The squadron finally closed in mid-1990, and the aircraft were distributed to static display locations, with a number kept in reserve storage.[26]. For comparison, the best commercial Concorde flight time was 2 hours 52 minutes and the Boeing 747 averages 6 hours 15 minutes. On that same day, the aircraft set the Speed Over a Closed Course record of 2,193.167 mph. ", "Design and Development of the Blackbird: Challenges and Lessons Learned", "Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" - Air Power Provided", "SR-71 Blackbird: The Cold War's ultimate spy plane", "OXCART vs Blackbird: Do You Know the Difference? [62] Maximum flight speed was limited by the temperature of the air entering the engine compressor, which was not certified for temperatures above 800F (430C). Downstream of this normal shock, the air is subsonic. This lack of immediate real-time capability was used as one of the justifications to close down the program. more than 30 years ago, SR-71s are still the world's fastest and highest-flying production aircraft. For the same reason, the A-12 airframe was never used to construct a bomber, although Curtis LeMay expressed significant interest in this possibility. The remaining engine's asymmetrical thrust would cause the aircraft to yaw violently to one side. [55] During troubleshooting of the unstart issue, NASA also discovered the vortices from the nose chines were entering the engine and interfering with engine efficiency. On 29 November 2018, the four Swedish pilots involved were awarded medals from the USAF.[116][117]. . The aircraft was meant to be powered by the Pratt & Whitney J58 engine, but development ran over schedule, and it was equipped instead with the less powerful Pratt & Whitney J75 initially. [16], During the later stages of its testing, the B-70 was proposed for a reconnaissance/strike role, with an "RS-70" designation. [70], Nortronics, Northrop Corporation's electronics development division, had developed an astro-inertial guidance system (ANS), which could correct inertial navigation system errors with celestial observations, for the SM-62 Snark missile, and a separate system for the ill-fated AGM-48 Skybolt missile, the latter of which was adapted for the SR-71. This unusual instrument projected a barely visible artificial horizon line across the top of the entire instrument panel, which gave the pilot subliminal cues on aircraft attitude. The A-12 is a single-seat, twin-engine, twin-tail design, manufactured of a titanium alloy. The U.S. military, anticipating a time . The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a two-seat twin-engine long-range supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft produced by Lockheed Corporation. Related: Here Are The Most Terrifying Aircraft Ever Used By The Military A high altitude jet aircraft used by the CIA and the US Air Force during the cold war. On 28 July 1976, SR-71 serial number 61-7958 set an absolute speed record of 1,905.81 knots (2,193.2 mph; 3,529.6 km/h), approximately Mach 3.3. The event had been classified for over 30 years, and when the report was unsealed, data from the NSA showed that multiple MiG-25s with the order to shoot down the SR-71 or force it to land, had started right after the engine failure. The same day another SR-71 set an absolute speed record of 3,529.6 kilometers per hour (2,193.2 miles per hour), approximately Mach 3.3. This proportion increased progressively with speed until the afterburner provided all the thrust at about Mach 3. Finally, scramjets with supersonic combustion cover the range of high supersonic to hypersonic speeds. [49] Its "blue light" source star tracker, which could see stars during both day and night, would continuously track a variety of stars as the aircraft's changing position brought them into view. The USAF may have seen the SR-71 as a bargaining chip to ensure the survival of other priorities. From the operator's perspective, what I need is something that will not give me just a spot in time but will give me a track of what is happening. "Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1994 and The Future Years.". Of 11 successive designs drafted in a span of 10 months, "A-10" was the front-runner. After a meeting with the CIA in March 1959, the design was modified to have a 90% reduction in radar cross-section. Its first operational mission was over Vietnam and subsequent missions were flown one to three times per week. [124] All other Blackbirds have been moved to museums except for the two SR-71s and a few D-21 drones retained by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (later renamed the Armstrong Flight Research Center). Tweet in Share Print Number of views (3286) The aircraft was flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio in March 1990. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [19], During the 1964 campaign, Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater repeatedly criticized President Lyndon B. Johnson and his administration for falling behind the Soviet Union in developing new weapons. In actuality, the YF-12 was the twin-seat version of the top-secret single-seat Lockheed A-12, and its design became the forerunner of the highly sophisticated SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Unlike the unarmed Blackbird, which used speed in its defense, the YF-12 was armed with three air-to-air missiles. Los Angeles, California, to Washington, D.C., distance 2,299.7 miles (3,701.0km), average speed 2,144.8 miles per hour (3,451.7km/h), and an elapsed time of 64 minutes 20 seconds. This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 07:27. Its stealthy design reduced its radar signature, and if it were fired upon by a surface-to-air missile, its evasive action was to simply accelerate and outfly the assailant. SR-71 Blackbird - Absolute Altitude (Sustained Flight) - Manned SR-71 Blackbird: One Flight - Four Speed Records. The Blackbird landed at over 170 knots (200mph; 310km/h) and deployed a drag parachute to stop; the chute also acted to reduce stress on the tires.[39]. Back when they were building the airplane the United States didn't have the ore supplies an ore called rutile ore. An SR-71 was used domestically in 1971 to assist the FBI in their manhunt for the skyjacker D.B. And the determination was that if one could take advantage of technology and develop a system that could get that data back real time that would be able to meet the unique requirements of the tactical commander." Eventually, a quieter, pneumatic start system was developed for use at main operating bases. The primary consumers of this intelligence were the CIA, NSA, and DIA. These same factions also forced expensive sensor upgrades to the SR-71, which did little to increase its mission capabilities, but could be used as justification for complaining about the cost of the program. However, the USAF refused to spend the money. [4], On most aircraft, the use of titanium was limited by the costs involved; it was generally used only in components exposed to the highest temperatures, such as exhaust fairings and the leading edges of wings. The SR-71 was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft during the 1960s by Lockheed's Skunk Works division. The SR-71 holds a coast-to-coast speed record of 64 . [21][N 3] To conceal the A-12's existence, Johnson referred only to the A-11, while revealing the existence of a high speed, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Crickmore, Paul F. "Lockheed's Blackbirds A-12, YF-12 and SR-71A". There were cases of the aircraft not being ready to fly again for a month due to the repairs needed. [43], The SR-71 featured chines, a pair of sharp edges leading aft from either side of the nose along the fuselage. PBS documentary, Aired: 15 November 2006. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (Mach 3.2 and 85,000 feet, 25,900 meters), allowing it to outrace or entirely avoid threats. Marshall, Elliot, The Blackbird's Wake, Air and Space, October/November 1990, p. 35. The SR-71 originally included optical/infrared imagery systems; side-looking airborne radar (SLAR);[74] electronic intelligence (ELINT) gathering systems;[75] defensive systems for countering missile and airborne fighters;[76][77][78][79] and recorders for SLAR, ELINT, and maintenance data. 28, 1976 in fact, SR-71 61-7962 set two world records for its class an absolute speed record of 2,193.167 mph and an absolute altitude record of 85,068.997 feet (although SR-71 61-7953 unofficially reached 86,700 feet in 1968). One of the most impressive vehicles to come out of the Lockheed Skunk Works experimental and clandestine development team is the SR-71 Blackbird. [33] Research was conducted on a liquid hydrogen powerplant, but the tanks for storing cryogenic hydrogen were not of a suitable size or shape. Unofficially, SR-71 pilot Brian Shul states in his book The Untouchables that he flew in excess of Mach 3.5 on 15 April 1986 over Libya to evade a missile. 98, 100101. During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (Mach 3.2 and 85,000 feet, 25,900 meters), allowing it to outrace or entirely avoid threats. SR-71 Blackbird - Speed over Recognized Course - New York to London, SR-71 Blackbird - Distance Speed Record - London to Los Angeles, SR-71 Blackbird - Absolute Speed Record - Manned Aircraft. It was a slow craft and visible on radar, but it compensated for these deficiencies with its high-altitude capability. [63], Originally, the Blackbird's J58 engines were started with the assistance of two Buick Wildcat V8 internal combustion engines, externally mounted on a vehicle referred to as an AG330 "start cart". Designed at Lockheeds Skunk Works by Clarence Kelly Johnson, the SR-71 performed reconnaissance for the U.S. Air Force for more than 30 years and played a key role in Cold War intelligence gathering. In 1989, SR-71 operations were suspended, and the SR-71 program was soon terminated after flying for 24 years with the Strategic Air Command. On July 28, 1976, an SR-71A set an Altitude in Horizontal Flight record at 85,068.997 feet. Still-active USAF pilots and Reconnaissance Systems Officers (RSOs) who had worked with the aircraft were asked to volunteer to fly the reactivated planes. By 1970, the SR-71s were averaging two sorties per week, and by 1972, they were flying nearly one sortie every day. It has set numerous speed and altitude records including the following in chronological order. [6] Since its retirement, the SR-71's role has been taken up by a combination of reconnaissance satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); a proposed UAV successor, the SR-72, is under development by Lockheed Martin, and scheduled to fly in 2025. [42] Drawing on early studies in radar stealth technology, which indicated that a shape with flattened, tapering sides would reflect most energy away from a radar beam's place of origin, engineers added chines and canted the vertical control surfaces inward. In June 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the line-item veto was unconstitutional. Filmed with Digital Combat Simulator New Videos Every Day Subscribe Turn On Noti. Named Blackbird due to its unique blue to black color, this aircraft would set numerous world records for speed and altitude. The specialized tooling used to manufacture both the YF-12 and the SR-71 was also ordered destroyed. [26], In 1988, Congress was convinced to allocate $160,000 to keep six SR-71s and a trainer model in flyable storage that could become flightworthy within 60 days. Myagkiy and its Weapons System Officer (WSO) were able to achieve a SR-71 lock on at 52,000 feet and at a distance of 120 Km from the target. Due to budget concerns, this model never went into production. In 1976, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird broke the worlds record for sustained altitude in horizontal flight at 25,929 meters (85,069 feet). SR-71 was designed to outperform every Soviet aircraft and missile with speed and altitude, following the 1960 incident, when the Soviets shot down CIA reconnaissance aircraft 1960 and captured its pilot Gary Powers. [49], On a typical mission, the SR-71 took off with only a partial fuel load to reduce stress on the brakes and tires during takeoff and also ensure it could successfully take off should one engine fail. [33], Some SR-71s featured red stripes to prevent maintenance workers from damaging the thin, fragile skin located near the center of the fuselage. The SR-71 entered service in January 1966. Rescue parties were sent in to repair the planes before leaving. [135] After the Los AngelesWashington flight, on 6 March 1990, Senator John Glenn addressed the United States Senate, chastising the Department of Defense for not using the SR-71 to its full potential: Mr. President, the termination of the SR-71 was a grave mistake and could place our nation at a serious disadvantage in the event of a future crisis. [140], National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)[150]. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. The USAF could fly each SR-71, on average, once per week, because of the extended turnaround required after mission recovery. On 28 July 1976, SR-71 serial number 61-7962, piloted by then Captain Robert Helt, broke the world record: an "absolute altitude record" of 85,069 feet (25,929 m). It decelerates further in the divergent duct to give the required speed at entry to the compressor. Flights often lasted more than six hours and covered more than 11,265 kilometers (7,000 square miles). [22], In 1968, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara canceled the F-12 interceptor program. The 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (1 SRS) kept its pilots and aircraft operational and active, and flew some operational reconnaissance missions through the end of 1989 and into 1990, due to uncertainty over the timing of the final termination of funding for the program. The SR-71's capability of flying at high speeds and at high altitudes made it possible for it to fly faster than any surface to air missiles that were fired at it. [46] The angle of incidence of the delta wings could be reduced for greater stability and less drag at high speeds, and more weight carried, such as fuel. In 1976, the SR-71 set the records it still holds:. At take-off, the afterburner provided 26% of the thrust. 11, November 1974. According to Richard Graham, a former SR-71 pilot, the navigation system was good enough to limit drift to 1,000ft (300m) off the direction of travel at Mach3.[73]. The gone but not forgotten Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird takes flight at sunset on its way to making a Mach 3.2 thunder run. Answer (1 of 7): In fact, common data say that SR-71 could fly at 85,000ft (26km) altitude and up to Mach 3.35 with a cruise speed of Mach 3.1. The CIA ordered 12 of these aircraft, and starting in 1965, A-12s began flying missions as part of Operation Black Shield out of Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa, Japan. Marshall, Elliot, The Blackbird's Wake, Air & Space, October/November 1990, p. 31. a list of stars used for celestial navigation, 4200th (later, 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, National Museum of the United States Air Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Aircraft in fiction Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, List of military aircraft of the United States, List of United States Air Force reconnaissance aircraft, "The SR-71 Blackbird: The Super Spy Plane That Outran Missiles", "NASA Armstrong Fact Sheet: SR-71 Blackbird", "U.S. Pushes Hard To Build SR-72 Hypersonic Fighter", "Records: Sub-class: C-1 (Landplanes) Group 3: turbo-jet. SAS, autopilot, and manual control inputs would fight the yawing, but often the extreme off-angle would reduce airflow in the opposite engine and stimulate "sympathetic stalls". On 6 March 1990, Lt. Col. Raymond E. Yeilding and Lt. Col. Joseph T. Vida piloted SR-71 S/N 61-7972 on its final Senior Crown flight and set four new speed records in the process: These four speed records were accepted by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the recognized body for aviation records in the United States. [11] That same day SR-71 serial number 61-7958 set an absolute speed record of 1,905.81 knots (2,193.2mph; 3,529.6km/h), approximately Mach3.3. To start the engines, triethylborane (TEB), which ignites on contact with air, was injected to produce temperatures high enough to ignite the JP-7. Originally planned as a high . [8] As of 2023[update] the SR-71 holds the world record it set in 1976 as the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, previously held by the related Lockheed YF-12. The R-12 also had a larger two-seat cockpit, and reshaped fuselage chines. The chines also acted like leading-edge extensions, which increase the agility of fighters such as the F-5, F-16, F/A-18, MiG-29, and Su-27. [12], The A-12 first flew at Groom Lake (Area 51), Nevada, on 25 April 1962. These were not a feature on the early A-3 design; Frank Rodgers, a doctor at the Scientific Engineering Institute, a CIA front organization, discovered that a cross-section of a sphere had a greatly reduced radar reflection, and adapted a cylindrical-shaped fuselage by stretching out the sides of the fuselage. [26] At sustained speeds of more than Mach 3.2, the plane was faster than the Soviet Union's fastest interceptor, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, which also could not reach the SR-71's altitude. SR-71C 64-17981)[177], After completion of all USAF and NASA SR-71 operations at Edwards AFB, the SR-71 Flight Simulator was moved in July 2006 to the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas. Reconnaissance aircraft. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents with none lost to enemy action. The strategic reconnaissance aircraft could operate at an altitude of . These generals were adept at communicating the value of the SR-71 to a USAF command staff and a Congress who often lacked a basic understanding of how the SR-71 worked and what it did. [91][92] The SR-71 reached a top speed of Mach 3.4 during flight testing,[93][94] with pilot Major Brian Shul reporting a speed in excess of Mach 3.5 on an operational sortie while evading a missile over Libya. It has set numerous speed and altitude records including the following in chronological order May 01, 1965 Absolute Altitude: 80,257.86 ft (24,390 meters). Imagery gathered included supply depots, harbor installations, industrial complexes, and prisoner-of-war camps. [95] The first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later, 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, in January 1966.[96]. With your help, we can continue to preserve and safeguard the worlds most comprehensive collection of artifacts representing the great achievements of flight and space exploration. [105] Five flights were attempted but on each occasion no photographs of the flight path were obtained due to low visibility.[106]. The KC-135Q had a modified high-speed boom, which would allow refueling of the Blackbird at nearly the tanker's maximum airspeed with minimum flutter. Beginning in 1980, the analog inlet control system was replaced by a digital system, which reduced unstart instances. [45], Aerodynamicists discovered that the chines generated powerful vortices and created additional lift, leading to unexpected aerodynamic performance improvements. [40], The second operational aircraft[41] designed around a stealth aircraft shape and materials, after the Lockheed A-12,[41] the SR-71 had several features designed to reduce its radar signature. 61-7976) operational mission flown from Kadena AB over Vietnam, 29 May 1968: CMSgt Bill Gornik begins the tie-cutting tradition of Habu crews' neckties, 3 December 1975: First flight of SR-71A (AF Ser. Two A-12s were modified to carry and launch the Lockheed D-21 remotely piloted reconnaissance drone, which would be powered by a Marquardt ramjet engine. Furthermore, an emergency ejection at Mach3.2 would subject crews to temperatures of about 450F (230C); thus, during a high-altitude ejection scenario, an onboard oxygen supply would keep the suit pressurized during the descent. Wide-area imaging was provided by two of Itek's Operational Objective Cameras, which provided stereo imagery across the width of the flight track, or an Itek Optical Bar Camera, which gave continuous horizon-to-horizon coverage. [111] The most common site for the lock-on was the thin stretch of international airspace between land and Gotland that the SR-71s used on their return flights. [2] If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outpace the missile. NASA was the final operator of the Blackbird, who used it as a research platform, retiring it in 1999. One was along the Norwegian west coast and up the Kola Peninsula, which contained several large naval bases belonging to the Soviet Navy's Northern Fleet. The CIA approved a US$96million contract for Skunk Works to build a dozen spy planes, named "A-12", on 11 February 1960. [103], While deployed at Okinawa, the SR-71s and their aircrew members gained the nickname Habu (as did the A-12s preceding them) after a pit viper indigenous to Japan, which the Okinawans thought the plane resembled. Blackbird diaries, Air & Space, December 2014/January 2015, p. 46. As space-based surveillance systems became more sophisticated and air defense systems became more effective, the Air Force chose to end the expensive program. Rob Vermeland, Lockheed Martin's manager of Advanced Development Program, said in an interview in 2015 that high-tempo operations were not realistic for the SR-71. Yesterday's historic transcontinental flight was a sad memorial to our short-sighted policy in strategic aerial reconnaissance.[136]. Throughout its thirty-four-year career, the SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft. Johnson decided to counter this criticism by revealing the existence of the YF-12A USAF interceptor, which also served as cover for the still-secret A-12[20] and the USAF reconnaissance model since July 1964. [178], Avionics ', American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird&oldid=1142415593, 1960s United States military reconnaissance aircraft, High-altitude and long endurance aircraft, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2014, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from February 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2012, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lost, 10 October 1968. USAF Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay preferred the SR (Strategic Reconnaissance) designation and wanted the RS-71 to be named SR-71. The aircraft is silhouetted against the sunset. [29] To control costs, Lockheed used a more easily worked titanium alloy which softened at a lower temperature. Modifications were made to provide a data-link with "near real-time" transmission of the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar's imagery to sites on the ground.[104]. On Jul. [2] If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outpace the missile. This portion of the skin was only supported by widely spaced structural ribs. Capture of the plane's shock wave within the inlet is called "starting the inlet". American leaders needed to know about the Soviet Unions nuclear capability, ICBM program, and military installations. The air slowed supersonically with a final plane shock wave at entry to the subsonic diffuser.[51]. Much like the SR-71, the A-12 was about 30-meters (100-feet) long, had a wingspan of 17 meters (55 feet), and weighed 54,431 kilograms (120,000 pounds). No. [7] The SR-71 has several nicknames, including "Blackbird" and "Habu". The U-2 was able to cruise at heights of more than 21,336 meters (70,000 feet), out of the reach of contemporary Soviet surface-to-air missiles and interceptors. Soviet overflights ceased and the U-2 continued flying missions over places with less sophisticated air defense systems. SR-71 Blackbird. 61-7974, is lost due to an engine explosion after taking off from Kadena AB, the last Blackbird to be lost, 22 November 1989: USAF SR-71 program officially terminated, 6 March 1990: Last SR-71 flight under Senior Crown program, setting four speed records en route to the Smithsonian Institution, 25 July 1991: SR-71B, AF Ser. On 1 November 2013, media outlets reported that Skunk Works has been working on an unmanned reconnaissance airplane it has named SR-72, which would fly twice as fast as the SR-71, at Mach 6. The Foxhound climbed at 65,676 feet where the crew. The aircraft flew at more than 2200 mph (Mach 3+ or more than three times the speed of sound) and at altitudes over 85,000 feet. Food was contained in sealed containers similar to toothpaste tubes which delivered food to the crewmember's mouth through the helmet opening. US Air Force supersonic aircraft, 19641998, "SR-71" redirects here. Why the SR-71 Blackbird Is Such a Badass Plane; The SR-71 was the result of a requirement for a high-speed, high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Crickmore, Paul F. "Blackbirds in the Cold War". Show more Show more 7:16 Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. Mach3.2 was the design point for the aircraft, its most efficient speed. [97] These deployments were code-named "Glowing Heat", while the program as a whole was code-named "Senior Crown". It set world records for altitude and speed: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet on July 28, 1974, and an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 miles per hour on the same day. The 1960 downing of Francis Gary Powers's U-2 underscored the aircraft's vulnerability and the need for faster reconnaissance aircraft such as the A-12. The shock waves generated slowed the air to subsonic speeds relative to the engine. For other uses, see, See the opening fly page in Paul Crickmore's book. The CIA requested designs from aerospace manufacturers for a new aircraft that would not be as susceptible to attack. In the Blackbird, mission success . The work on project Archangel began in the second quarter of 1958, with aim of flying higher and faster than the U-2. [26], The SR-71, while much more capable than the Lockheed U-2 in terms of range, speed, and survivability, suffered the lack of a data link, which the U-2 had been upgraded to carry.