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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.
Role Strategic reconnaissance aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Lockheed Corporation
Design group Lockheed Skunk Works
Designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
First flight 22 December 1964
Introduction January 1966
Retired
  • USAF: 1989 (temp.), 1998 (final)
  • NASA: 1999
Status Retired
Primary users United States Air Force (historical)
NASA (historical)
Number built 32
Developed from Lockheed 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 from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft during the 1960s by Lockheed's Skunk Works division. 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 that of the Lockheed A-12, which was one of the first aircraft to be designed with a reduced radar cross-section in mind. Initially, a bomber variant of the A-12 was requested by Curtis LeMay, before the program was focused solely on reconnaissance. The SR-71 was longer and heavier than the A-12, allowing it to hold more fuel as well as a two-seat cockpit. 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] 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; it was retired again in 1999.[5]

Mission equipment for the plane's aerial reconnaissance role included signals intelligence sensors, side looking airborne radar, and a camera.[6] During missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (Mach 3.2 and 85,000 ft; 26,000 m), allowing it to outrace or entirely avoid threats.[6] If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outpace the missile.[7] On average, each SR-71 could fly once per week due to the extended turnaround required after mission recovery. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents with none lost 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] As of 2024, the SR-71 holds the world record, which it set in 1976, as the fastest airbreathing manned aircraft, previously held by the closely related Lockheed YF-12.[11][12][13]


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.
  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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