A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Initially, a bomber variant of the A-12 was requested by Curtis LeMay, before the program was focused solely on reconnaissance. Unlike the unarmed Blackbird, which used speed in its defense, the YF-12 was armed with three air-to-air missiles. What would happen if an SR-71 tried to surpass that altitude? European operations were from RAF Mildenhall, England. Hinckley, UK: AeroFax-Midland Publishing, 2002. Also, with the allocation requiring yearly reaffirmation by Congress, long-term planning for the SR-71 was difficult. The SR-71 Blackbird cruises above Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). [27] Finished aircraft were painted a dark blue, almost black, to increase the emission of internal heat and to act as camouflage against the night sky. [17] The CIA's A-12 was a better photo-reconnaissance platform than the USAF's R-12, since the A-12 flew somewhat higher and faster, and with only one pilot, it had room to carry a superior camera[14] and more instruments. No. 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. [34] Because of this, and the lack of a fuel-sealing system that could handle the airframe's expansion at extreme temperatures, the aircraft leaked JP-7 fuel on the ground prior to takeoff,[35] annoying ground crews. [22], In 1968, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara canceled the F-12 interceptor program. Kelly Johnson later conceded that Soviet radar technology advanced faster than the stealth technology employed against it. In late 1957, the CIA approached the defense contractor Lockheed to build an undetectable spy plane. [26] Dick Cheney told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the SR-71 cost $85,000 per hour to operate. Credit: NASA Concordski: What ever happened to Soviets' spectacular rival to Concorde? Several aircraft have exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs, but not in sustained flight. Yesterday's historic transcontinental flight was a sad memorial to our short-sighted policy in strategic aerial reconnaissance.[136]. Central Intelligence Agency", "The Advent, Evolution, and New Horizons of United States Stealth Aircraft. In the Blackbird, mission success . [33] In practice, the Blackbird would burn somewhat conventional JP-7, which was difficult to ignite. 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. May 01, 1965. The air then entered the engine compressor. [81][83], Over its operational life, the Blackbird carried various electronic countermeasures (ECMs), including warning and active electronic systems built by several ECM companies and called Systems A, A2, A2C, B, C, C2, E, G, H, and M. On a given mission, an aircraft carried several of these frequency/purpose payloads to meet the expected threats. Only one aircraft even has the distinction of achieving radar lock on the legendary spy plane. [104] In 1996, the USAF claimed that specific funding had not been authorized, and moved to ground the program. On the SR-71, titanium was used for 85% of the structure, with much of the rest polymer composite materials. When the SR-71 was retired in 1990, one Blackbird was flown from its birthplace at USAF Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, to go on exhibit at what is now the Smithsonian Institution's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. [104], Congress's disappointment with the lack of a suitable replacement for the Blackbird was cited concerning whether to continue funding imaging sensors on the U-2. It was a slow craft and visible on radar, but it compensated for these deficiencies with its high-altitude capability. This lack of immediate real-time capability was used as one of the justifications to close down the program. Blackbird aircraft have been setting records since day one. One successful offshoot of the A-12 was the SR-71 Blackbird. If internal pressures became too great and the spike was incorrectly positioned, the shock wave would suddenly blow out the front of the inlet, called an "inlet unstart". SR-71 dual-seat reconnaissance aircraft operated by U.S. Air Force. Marshall, Eliot, "The Blackbird's Wake", Air & Space, October/November 1990, p. 35. The USAF could fly each SR-71, on average, once per week, because of the extended turnaround required after mission recovery. This configuration had a second seat for the weapons officer and cut back the chines along the nose in order to fit the AN/ASG-18 Fire Control System and AIM-47A missile armament. PBS documentary, Aired: 15 November 2006. 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. [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). Capture of the plane's shock wave within the inlet is called "starting the inlet". The tanker also had special fuel systems for moving JP-4 (for the KC-135Q itself) and JP-7 (for the SR-71) between different tanks. In the following years, Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. 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). They maintained that, in a time of constrained military budgets, designing, building, and testing an aircraft with the same capabilities as the SR-71 would be impossible. In 1976, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird broke the worlds record for sustained altitude in horizontal flight at 25,929 meters (85,069 feet). "Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1994 and The Future Years.". [N 2] This USAF version was longer and heavier than the original A-12 because it had a longer fuselage to hold more fuel. [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". Congressional conferees stated the "experience with the SR-71 serves as a reminder of the pitfalls of failing to keep existing systems up-to-date and capable in the hope of acquiring other capabilities. Two SR-71s were lost during these missions, one in 1970 and the second aircraft in 1972, both due to mechanical malfunctions. To start the engines, triethylborane (TEB), which ignites on contact with air, was injected to produce temperatures high enough to ignite the JP-7. 61-7956/NASA No. 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]. Beginning in 1980, the analog inlet control system was replaced by a digital system, which reduced unstart instances. Moving the spike tip drew the shock wave riding on it closer to the inlet cowling until it touched just slightly inside the cowling lip. Thus, there are doubts that the US has abandoned the concept of spy planes to complement reconnaissance satellites. [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. [64][65], Several exotic fuels were investigated for the Blackbird. Working through Third World countries and bogus operations, they were able to get the rutile ore shipped to the United States to build the SR-71. SR-71 Blackbird - Absolute Altitude (Sustained Flight) - Manned Aircraft. No. Absolute Altitude: 80,257.86 ft (24,390 meters). [89], Blackbird pilots and RSOs were provided with food and drink for the long reconnaissance flights. Brandt, Steven A., Randall J. Stiles and John J. Bertin. 61-7980/NASA 844). During one mission, SR-71 pilot Brian Shul flew faster than usual to avoid multiple interception attempts; afterward, it was discovered that this had reduced fuel consumption. [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. [2] If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outpace the missile. 11, November 1974. 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. The highest altitude recorded on an SR-71 Blackbird is 25,929 meters. The start cart was positioned underneath the J58 and the two Buick engines powered a single, vertical drive shaft connecting to the J58 engine and spinning it to above 3,200 RPM, at which point the turbojet could self-sustain. 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. 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. On July 28, 1976, an SR-71A set an Altitude in Horizontal Flight record at 85,068.997 feet. This close-up, head-on view of NASA's SR-71A Blackbird in flight shows the aircraft with an experimental test fixture mounted on the back of the airplane. Itek KA-102A 3648in (9101,220mm) camera. [120] Four months after the plane's retirement, General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., was told that the expedited reconnaissance, which the SR-71 could have provided, was unavailable during Operation Desert Storm. (In order to be selected into the SR-71 program in the first place, a pilot or navigator (RSO) had to be a top-quality USAF officer, so continuing career progression for members of this elite group was not surprising.) Kelly Johnson submitted his proposal for the U-2, essentially a glider with a jet engine and a panning camera in its belly. 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. The addition of chines also allowed the removal of the planned canard foreplanes. The aircraft flew at an altitude of over 80,000 feet (24,000 m) and at speeds over 2,190 miles per hour (3,520 km/h). [45], Aerodynamicists discovered that the chines generated powerful vortices and created additional lift, leading to unexpected aerodynamic performance improvements. The aircraft was flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio in March 1990. [138][139] However, the USAF is officially pursuing the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 UAV to assume the SR-71's strategic ISR role. No. The TEB produced a characteristic green flame, which could often be seen during engine ignition. Titanium was in short supply in the United States, so the Skunk Works team was forced to look elsewhere for the metal. 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. [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. The aircraft was under the command and control of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base and flew out of a renovated hangar at Edwards Air Force Base. Supersonic flights generally lasted no more than 90 minutes before the pilot had to find a tanker. SR-71s first arrived at the 9th SRW's Operating Location (OL-8) at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan on 8 March 1968. These SR-71 photos were photographed by civilians or members/veterans of the US. During the Cold War, pilots of the Concorde were asking air traffic control to move the SR-71 out of its way so it could proceed to New York's JF as well as other destinations. "[99], From the beginning of the Blackbird's reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam and Laos in 1968, the SR-71s averaged approximately one sortie a week for nearly two years. [23] Production of the SR-71 totaled 32 aircraft with 29 SR-71As, two SR-71Bs, and the single SR-71C.[24]. Thirteen were built; two variants were also developed, including three of the YF-12 interceptor prototype, and two of the M-21 drone carrier. These A-12s flew missions over Laos, North Vietnam, and North Korea. On September 1, 1974, it set a speed and time Today, 15 of the remaining SR-71s are housed at museums across the United States, three remain property of Lockheed, and three have been kept by NASA to study aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, thermal protection materials, and instrumentation. Crickmore, Paul F. "Blackbirds in the Cold War". ", "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? In flight, the ANS, which sat behind the reconnaissance systems officer's (RSO's), position, tracked stars through a circular quartz glass window on the upper fuselage. [33], Some SR-71s featured red stripes to prevent maintenance workers from damaging the thin, fragile skin located near the center of the fuselage. Cockpit section survived and located at the, 13 June 1962: SR-71 mock-up reviewed by the USAF, 30 July 1962: J58 completes pre-flight testing, 28 December 1962: Lockheed signs contract to build six SR-71 aircraft, 25 July 1964: President Johnson makes public announcement of SR-71, 29 October 1964: SR-71 prototype (AF Ser. 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. [33] Research was conducted on a liquid hydrogen powerplant, but the tanks for storing cryogenic hydrogen were not of a suitable size or shape. [43], The SR-71 featured chines, a pair of sharp edges leading aft from either side of the nose along the fuselage. Fuselage panels were manufactured to fit only loosely with the aircraft on the ground. When the aircraft accelerated past Mach1.6, an internal jackscrew moved the spike up to 26in (66cm) inwards,[50] directed by an analog air inlet computer that took into account pitot-static system, pitch, roll, yaw, and angle of attack. The Blackbirds Pratt & Whitney J58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner to facilitate cruise at supersonic speeds. Landis and Jenkins 2005, pp. . Such generals had an interest in believing, and persuading the services and the Congress, that the SR-71 had become either entirely or almost entirely redundant to satellites, U-2s, incipient UAV programs, and an alleged top-secret successor already under development. The SR-71 Blackbird cruises above Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). 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. It had a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Operator (RSO). It was located above and behind the student cockpit. The aircraft can fly more than 2200 mph (Mach 3+ or more than three times the speed of sound) and at altitudes of over 85,000 feet. [35] Within 20 seconds the aircraft traveled 4,500 feet (1,400m), reached 240 miles per hour (390km/h), and lifted off. The SR-71 carried a Fairchild tracking camera and an infrared camera,[80] both of which ran during the entire mission. Due to budget concerns, this model never went into production. It is the integration of strategic and tactical. [44] After the advisory panel provisionally selected Convair's FISH design over the A-3 on the basis of RCS, Lockheed adopted chines for its A-4 through A-6 designs. One of the most impressive vehicles to come out of the Lockheed Skunk Works experimental and clandestine development team is the SR-71 Blackbird. Related: Here Are The Most Terrifying Aircraft Ever Used By The Military Air Force and NASA. Meanwhile, the Air Force wanted a long-range interceptor aircraft that could fly long distances at triplesonic cruise speed above 21,336 (70,000 feet) to intercept enemy bombers with Hughes Falcon air-to-air missiles. Some secondary references use incorrect 64- series aircraft serial numbers (e.g. [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). Instead, the SR-71's camera systems could be located either in the fuselage chines or the removable nose/chine section. 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. Rescue parties were sent in to repair the planes before leaving. Mach3.2 was the design point for the aircraft, its most efficient speed. Aerodynamicists initially opposed the concept, disparagingly referring to the aircraft as a Mach 3 variant of the 1920s-era Ford Trimotor, which was known for its corrugated aluminum skin. Only one crew member, Jim Zwayer, a Lockheed flight-test reconnaissance and navigation systems specialist, was killed in a flight accident. American aerospace engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the aircraft's innovative concepts. [3] For the same reason, the A-12 airframe was never used to construct a bomber, although Curtis LeMay expressed significant interest in this possibility. [33] However, in practice the SR-71 was sometimes more efficient at even faster speedsdepending on the outside air temperatureas measured by pounds of fuel burned per nautical mile traveled. During unstarts, afterburner extinctions were common. Maximum speed limit was Mach 3.2, but could be raised to Mach 3.3 if the engine compressor inlet temperature did not exceed 801F (427C). The SR-71 was capable of flying at speeds over Mach 3.2 and at a height of 85,000 feet (25,900 Meter). 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]. [97] During its career, this aircraft (976) accumulated 2,981 flying hours and flew 942 total sorties (more than any other SR-71), including 257 operational missions, from Beale AFB; Palmdale, California; Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan; and RAF Mildenhall, UK. Despite a brief revival of SR-71 flights in the mid-1990s, the program came to a final close in 1998. American leaders needed to know about the Soviet Unions nuclear capability, ICBM program, and military installations. [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. However, another view held by various officers and legislators is that the SR-71 program was terminated owing to Pentagon politics, and not because the aircraft had become obsolete, irrelevant, too hard to maintain, or unsustainably expensive. After a meeting with the CIA in March 1959, the design was modified to have a 90% reduction in radar cross-section. Blackbird diaries, Air & Space, December 2014/January 2015, p. 46. In 1976, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird broke the world's record for sustained altitude in horizontal flight at 25,929 meters (85,069 feet). Another project stemming from the development of the A-12 was the M-21 aircraft and the D-21 drone. ", "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 Air Force decided to order its own two-seat version of the A-12, a refined reconnaissance version for the Strategic Air Command. Now when talking about SR-71 probably the most frequently asked Blackbird question is-how high and how fast does it really fly? Less than two weeks . [4][5] Eleven of these accidents happened between 1966 and 1972. Donald, David, ed. 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). [67], The SR-71 also required in-flight refueling to replenish fuel during long-duration missions. On 26 April 1971, 61-7968, flown by majors Thomas B. Estes and Dewain C. Vick, flew over 15,000 miles (24,000km) in 10 hours and 30 minutes. Filmed with Digital Combat Simulator New Videos Every Day Subscribe Turn On Noti. [86] The cabin needed a heavy-duty cooling system, as cruising at Mach3.2 would heat the aircraft's external surface well beyond 500F (260C)[87] and the inside of the windshield to 250F (120C). [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. The media transcript given to the press at the time still had the earlier RS-71 designation in places, creating the story that the president had misread the aircraft's designation. Several aircraft have exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs, but not in sustained flight. The Blackbirds were designed to cruise at Mach 3.2, just over three times the speed of sound or more than 2,200 miles per hour and at altitudes up to 85,000 feet. The SR-71 had a radar cross-section (RCS) around 110sqft (10m2). They refueled from a KC-135, accelerated. [26] Graham said that the last-mentioned one was only a sales pitch, not a fact, at the time in the 1990s. 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. It carried one highly sophisticated, downward-looking film camera, but the plan was to eventually outfit the craft with an infrared camera, side-looking radar, and a gamma spectrometer. [7] The SR-71 has several nicknames, including "Blackbird" and "Habu". Merely accelerating would typically be enough for an SR-71 to evade a SAM;[3] changes by the pilots in the SR-71's speed, altitude, and heading were also often enough to spoil any radar lock on the plane by SAM sites or enemy fighters. Thankfully, this possibility seemed less and less likely, and the SR-71 was also capable of conventional intelligence gathering. An advanced, long-range, Mach 3.2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft. No. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a two-seat twin-engine long-range supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft produced by Lockheed Corporation. No. In the early years of operation, the analog computers would not always keep up with rapidly changing flight environmental inputs. An SR-71 during a test flight handled by NASA. Major Jerry Crew, an RSO, told Air & Space/Smithsonian that he used a jammer to try to confuse surface-to-air missile sites as their crews tracked his airplane, but once his threat-warning receiver told him a missile had been launched, he switched off the jammer to prevent the missile from homing in on its signal. 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. On landing, the canopy temperature was over 572F (300C). As Jim Goodall points herein, A-12 is known to have reached 96,200ft (39321m al. According to Aerotime.aero, in the same altitude bracket flew the US Air Force (USAF) SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. This flight was awarded the 1971 Mackay Trophy for the "most meritorious flight of the year" and the 1972 Harmon Trophy for "most outstanding international achievement in the art/science of aeronautics".[132]. The fly-over orbit of spy satellites may also be predicted and can allow assets to be hidden when the satellite passes, a drawback not shared by aircraft. Flights often lasted more than six hours and covered more than 11,265 kilometers (7,000 square miles). [33] The heat would have caused a smooth skin to split or curl, whereas the corrugated skin could expand vertically and horizontally and had increased longitudinal strength. The mission was to do an incident preparedness check and identify an aircraft of high interest. Soviet overflights ceased and the U-2 continued flying missions over places with less sophisticated air defense systems. 3,500lb (1,588kg) of mission equipment, Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era. The CIA requested designs from aerospace manufacturers for a new aircraft that would not be as susceptible to attack. 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. Back when they were building the airplane the United States didn't have the ore supplies an ore called rutile ore. [28] During its service life, no SR-71 was ever shot down. [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]. 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. Graham, a former 1st-SRS and 9th-SRW commander, presented in 1996 what he viewed as a factual summary, not an opinion, of how the SR-71 provided some intelligence capabilities that none of its alternatives (such as satellites, U-2s, and UAVs) were providing in the 1990s (when the SR-71 was retired and then re-retired from Air Force reconnaissance duty. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. When the A-12's performance potential was clearly found to be much greater, the USAF ordered a variant of the A-12 in December 1962,[17] which was originally named R-12 by Lockheed. . [98] On 21 March 1968, Major (later General) Jerome F. O'Malley and Major Edward D. Payne flew the first operational SR-71 sortie in SR-71 serial number 61-7976 from Kadena AFB, Okinawa. For comparison, the best commercial Concorde flight time was 2 hours 52 minutes and the Boeing 747 averages 6 hours 15 minutes. Created by Lockheed's brilliant designer Kelly Johnson, the SR-71 Blackbird is one of the most legendary aircraft to emerge from the famous "Skunk Works". In 1976, the SR-71 Blackbird flew at a sustained altitude of 85,069 feet with top speeds of 2,193 MPH, setting records of top speed and altitude that haven't been beaten to this day. 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. NASA operated the two last airworthy Blackbirds until 1999. 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.