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Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

"SR-71" redirects here. For other uses, see SR-71 (disambiguation).

SR-71 "Blackbird"
Dryden's SR-71B Blackbird, NASA 831, slices across the snow-covered southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California after being refueled by a USAF tanker during a 1994 flight. The SR-71B was the trainer version of the SR-71. The dual cockpit allows the instructor to fly.
An SR-71B trainer over the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California in 1994. The raised second cockpit is for the instructor.
General information
TypeStrategic reconnaissance aircraft
National originUnited States
ManufacturerLockheed Corporation
DesignerLockheed Skunk Works
StatusRetired
Primary usersUnited States Air Force (historical)
NASA (historical)
Number built32
History
Introduction dateJanuary 1966
First flight22 December 1964
Retired
  • USAF: 1989 (temp.), 1998 (final)
  • NASA: 1999
Developed fromLockheed A-12

The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation.[N 1] The SR-71 has several nicknames, including "Blackbird" and "Habu".[1]

The SR-71 was developed as a black project reconnaissance aircraft during the 1960s by Lockheed's Skunk Works division, initially as a bomber variant of the Lockheed A-12, requested by Curtis LeMay, before the program focused solely on reconnaissance.

American aerospace engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the aircraft's innovative concepts.[2] The shape of the SR-71 was based on the pioneer "stealth" Lockheed A-12, with its reduced radar cross section, but the SR-71 was longer and heavier, to allow for more fuel, and a crew of two in tandem cockpits. After the SR-71's existence was revealed to the public in July 1964, it entered service in the United States Air Force (USAF) in January 1966.[3] In 1989, the USAF retired the SR-71, largely for political reasons,[4] although several were briefly reactivated during the 1990s, before their second retirement in 1998. NASA was the final operator of the Blackbird, using it as a research platform, until it was retired again in 1999.[5]

During missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (Mach 3.2 and 85,000 ft; 26,000 m), allowing it to evade or outrace threats.[6] If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was to accelerate and outpace the missile.[7] Equipment for the plane's aerial reconnaissance missions included signals-intelligence sensors, side-looking airborne radar, and a camera.[6]

On average, each SR-71 could fly once per week due to the time required to prepare it for the next mission. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents, none to enemy action.[8][9]

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.[10]

In 1974, a pair of SR-71 flights set the records for highest sustained flight and quickest flight between London and New York. In 1976, it became the fastest airbreathing manned aircraft, previously held by its predecessor, the closely related Lockheed YF-12.[11][12][13] As of 2024, the Blackbird still holds all three world records.


Cite error: There are <ref group=N> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=N}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Crickmore (1997), p. 64
  2. ^ "Creating the Blackbird". Lockheed Martin. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  3. ^ Merlin, Peter W. "Blackbird Facts" (PDF). NASA. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  4. ^ Richelson, Jeffrey (9 April 1989). "Air Force Tries to Shoot Down Its Own Spy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  5. ^ Gibbs, Yvonne (1 March 2014). "NASA Armstrong Fact Sheet: SR-71 Blackbird". NASA. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b Roblin, Sebastien (21 October 2016). "The SR-71 Blackbird: The Super Spy Plane That Outran Missiles". The National Interest. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  7. ^ "SR-71 Blackbird." PBS documentary, Aired: 15 November 2006.
  8. ^ Landis & Jenkins (2004), pp. 98, 100–101
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pace_p126-7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Villasanta, Artie (23 November 2018). "U.S. Pushes Hard To Build SR-72 Hypersonic Fighter". Business Times.
  11. ^ Landis & Jenkins (2004), p. 78
  12. ^ Pace (2004), p. 159
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference FAI_records was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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