Summary and Key Points: Defense analyst Harrison Kass evaluates the 1966 SR-71 Blackbird breakup involving Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver. -While testing aft center of gravity (CG) at Mach 3.18, a ...

Summary and Key Points: An American SR-71 Blackbird lost one engine to an inlet unstart at 83,000 feet and Mach 3 during a reconnaissance mission over Vladivostok, the major Soviet port on the Pacific ...

What You Need to Know: The SR-71 Blackbird, one of the fastest aircraft ever built, was powered by revolutionary Pratt & Whitney engines using single-crystal turbine blades to endure extreme heat.

SR-71 Spy Plane Story: In an unforgettable example of super-speedy and long-range flight, a pilot and his recon systems officer pushed the envelope of an SR-71 Blackbird to its limits. In 1971, they ...

Back in 1976, at the height of the Cold War, one of America's most secretive planes, the SR-71 Blackbird, managed to achieve a tremendous feat: it traveled at a speed of Mach 3, which is 2,193.2 mph ...

Curator John Anderson explains what causes the distinctive diamond pattern in the SR-71 jet engine exhaust. Learn more about the Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird on display at the National Air and Space ...

Explore the incredible achievements of the SR-71 Blackbird, a legendary reconnaissance aircraft renowned for its speed, altitude, and pioneering technology.

In the 4½ years since Lyndon Johnson told the world of a new U.S. spy plane faster and higher-flying than the old U2, the SR-71 has remained wrapped in secrecy as dark as its dull black paint.