sr 71 blackbird altitude

It has set numerous speed and altitude records including the following in chronological order. It was found that the plane was in obvious distress and a decision was made that the Swedish Air Force would escort the plane out of the Baltic Sea. An air conditioner used a heat exchanger to dump heat from the cockpit into the fuel prior to combustion. 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". 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). Central Intelligence Agency", "The Advent, Evolution, and New Horizons of United States Stealth Aircraft. It was located above and behind the student cockpit. Thus, Swedish airspace was violated, whereupon two unarmed[115] Saab JA 37 Viggens on an exercise at the height of Vstervik were ordered there. 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. In the Blackbird, mission success . The SR-71 was in duty from 1964 until 1989 and during a reactivation from 1993 until 1998. 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). [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. 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). The Blackbirds were designed to cruise at "Mach 3+," just over three times the speed of sound or more than 2,200 miles per hour and at altitudes up to 85,000 feet. An advanced, long-range, Mach 3.2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft. In other words, it was a spy plane. ', 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. This configuration never flew operational missions due to horrific accidents involving difficulty with drone separation that occurred during testing. The limitations of reconnaissance satellites, which take up to 24 hours to arrive in the proper orbit to photograph a particular target, make them slower to respond to demand than reconnaissance planes. While the SR-71 carried radar countermeasures to evade interception efforts, its greatest protection was its combination of high altitude and very high speed, which made it almost invulnerable. [100][101] Over the course of its reconnaissance missions during the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese fired approximately 800 SAMs at SR-71s, none of which managed to score a hit. Specialized protective pressurized suits were produced for crew members by the David Clark Company for the A-12, YF-12, M-21 and SR-71. The TEB produced a characteristic green flame, which could often be seen during engine ignition. 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. On September 1, 1974, Major James Sullivan and his backseater, Major Noel F. Widdifield, set a speed record in SR-71A serial no. "SR-71 Blackbird." 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. Itek KA-102A 3648in (9101,220mm) camera. It is the integration of strategic and tactical. SR-71s first arrived at the 9th SRW's Operating Location (OL-8) at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan on 8 March 1968. President Eisenhower had approved the use of bombers and balloons in the early 1950s for intelligence gathering, but these craft were vulnerable to antiaircraft artillery and fighter-interceptors. As research platforms, the aircraft could cruise at Mach 3 for more than one hour. Thirteen were built; two variants were also developed, including three of the YF-12 interceptor prototype, and two of the M-21 drone carrier. The SR-71 holds a coast-to-coast speed record of 64 . The addition of chines also allowed the removal of the planned canard foreplanes. One widely conventional view, and probably the best-known view, of the reasons for the SR-71's retirement in 1989a view that the Air Force itself offered to the Congresswas that besides being very expensive, the SR-71 had become redundant anyway, among other reconnaissance methods that were ever-evolving. The major supplier of the ore was the USSR. [45], Aerodynamicists discovered that the chines generated powerful vortices and created additional lift, leading to unexpected aerodynamic performance improvements. Kelly Johnson later conceded that Soviet radar technology advanced faster than the stealth technology employed against it. [22], In 1968, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara canceled the F-12 interceptor program. Despite a brief revival of SR-71 flights in the mid-1990s, the program came to a final close in 1998. The aircraft, which was at 20km altitude, quickly lost altitude and turned 180 to the left and turned over Gotland to search for the Swedish coast. 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. Tweet Print Number of views (3119) Tags: Aircraft Records SR-71 Record List However, the USAF refused to spend the money. 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. In later life, the radar was replaced by Loral's Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System (ASARS-1). The U.S. military, anticipating a time . During unstarts, afterburner extinctions were common. [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. [N 1] It was operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and NASA.[1]. These were called the TA-12, SR-71B, and SR-71C. The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. Soviet overflights ceased and the U-2 continued flying missions over places with less sophisticated air defense systems. Special radar-absorbing materials were incorporated into sawtooth-shaped sections of the aircraft's skin. The reactivation met much resistance: the USAF had not budgeted for the aircraft, and UAV developers worried that their programs would suffer if money was shifted to support the SR-71s. Peak speeds during this flight were likely closer to the declassified top speed of over Mach3.2. In June 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the line-item veto was unconstitutional. 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. [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. [49], At the front of each inlet, a pointed, movable inlet cone called a "spike" was locked in its full forward position on the ground and during subsonic flight. [57], Air was initially compressed (and heated) by the inlet spike and subsequent converging duct between the center body and inlet cowl. Initially, a bomber variant of the A-12 was requested by Curtis LeMay, before the program was focused solely on reconnaissance. Only one crew member, Jim Zwayer, a Lockheed flight-test reconnaissance and navigation systems specialist, was killed in a flight accident. 3,500lb (1,588kg) of mission equipment, Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era. 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). "Lockheed's SR-71 'Blackbird' Family A-12, F-12, M-21, D-21, SR-71". 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. Twelve SR-71s were lost and one pilot died in accidents during the aircraft's service career. [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. Still-active USAF pilots and Reconnaissance Systems Officers (RSOs) who had worked with the aircraft were asked to volunteer to fly the reactivated planes. 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. 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. St. Louis, Missouri, to Cincinnati, Ohio, distance 311.4 miles (501.1km), average speed 2,189.9 miles per hour (3,524.3km/h), and an elapsed time of 8 minutes 32 seconds. [118] Opponents estimated the aircraft's support cost at $400 to $700million per year, though the cost was actually closer to $300million. Mission equipment for the reconnaissance role included signals intelligence sensors, side looking airborne radar, and a camera;[2] the SR-71 was both longer and heavier than the A-12, allowing it to hold more fuel as well as a two-seat cockpit. The rotating machinery had become a drag item[61] and the engine thrust at high speeds came from the afterburner temperature rise. The Blackbirds owes its success to the continuum of aircraft that came before it. [67], The SR-71 also required in-flight refueling to replenish fuel during long-duration missions. No. Named Blackbird due to its unique blue to black color, this aircraft would set numerous world records for speed and altitude. ", "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? [69] As an aid to the pilot when refueling, the cockpit was fitted with a peripheral vision horizon display. Instead, the SR-71's camera systems could be located either in the fuselage chines or the removable nose/chine section. No. Air Force and NASA. . Supersonic flights generally lasted no more than 90 minutes before the pilot had to find a tanker. Marshall, Eliot, "The Blackbird's Wake", Air & Space, October/November 1990, p. 35. In the later years of its operational life, a datalink system could send ASARS-1 and ELINT data from about 2,000nmi (3,700km) of track coverage to a suitably equipped ground station. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. [28] During its service life, no SR-71 was ever shot down. Beginning in 1980, the analog inlet control system was replaced by a digital system, which reduced unstart instances. Book Synopsis. Its first operational mission was over Vietnam and subsequent missions were flown one to three times per week. The design was designated YF-12A in 1962 and it took its first successful Groom Lake flight in the following year. Also, the SR-71 program's "product", which was operational and strategic intelligence, was not seen by these generals as being very valuable to the USAF. On that same day, the aircraft set the Speed Over a Closed Course record of 2,193.167 mph. 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). In addition to reaching altitudes higher than 25,908 meters (85,000 feet) and cruise at speeds greater than Mach 3.2, it could survey up to 160,934 square kilometers (100,000 square miles) of territory in just one hour. We rely on the generous support of donors, sponsors, members, and other benefactors to share the history and impact of aviation and spaceflight, educate the public, and inspire future generations. Due to unease over political situations in the Middle East and North Korea, the U.S. Congress re-examined the SR-71 beginning in 1993. . 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. [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. NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. The Foxhound climbed at 65,676 feet where the crew. "[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. The V8 start carts remained at diversion landing sites not equipped with the pneumatic system. There were cases of the aircraft not being ready to fly again for a month due to the repairs needed. PBS documentary, Aired: 15 November 2006. The specialized tooling used to manufacture both the YF-12 and the SR-71 was also ordered destroyed. They had a second cockpit for an instructor pilot. 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. The SR-71 Blackbird set speed and altitude records that stand to this day. 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). The leaking of fuel was an intentional design feature because the high heat generated by the aircraft made it impossible to fully seal the fuselage tanks against leaks. The remaining engine's asymmetrical thrust would cause the aircraft to yaw violently to one side. [8], Operational highlights for the entire Blackbird family (YF-12, A-12, and SR-71) as of about 1990 included:[104]. [53] After wind tunnel testing and computer modeling by NASA Dryden test center,[54] Lockheed installed an electronic control to detect unstart conditions and perform this reset action without pilot intervention. The work on project Archangel began in the second quarter of 1958, with aim of flying higher and faster than the U-2. Only one aircraft even has the distinction of achieving radar lock on the legendary spy plane. [35] Within 20 seconds the aircraft traveled 4,500 feet (1,400m), reached 240 miles per hour (390km/h), and lifted off. [26] Graham said that the last-mentioned one was only a sales pitch, not a fact, at the time in the 1990s. 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 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). 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. [33] In practice, the Blackbird would burn somewhat conventional JP-7, which was difficult to ignite. [68], Specialized KC-135Q tankers were required to refuel the SR-71. "[104] It was agreed to add $100million to the budget to return three SR-71s to service, but it was emphasized that this "would not prejudice support for long-endurance UAVs" [such as the Global Hawk]. If the SAM site could track the SR-71 and fire a SAM in time, the SAM would expend nearly all of the delta-v of its boost and sustainer phases just reaching the SR-71's altitude; at this point, out of thrust, it could do little more than follow its ballistic arc. [134] Additionally, Air & Space/Smithsonian reported that the USAF clocked the SR-71 at one point in its flight reaching 2,242.48 miles per hour (3,608.92km/h). NASA released video footage of the SR-71 Blackbird, the high-altitude recon aircraft capable of reaching speeds over Mach 3. Kelly Johnson submitted his proposal for the U-2, essentially a glider with a jet engine and a panning camera in its belly. The dark color led to the aircraft's nickname "Blackbird". [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. 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. [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). No. [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. Due to budget concerns, this model never went into production. 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. These A-12s flew missions over Laos, North Vietnam, and North Korea. SR-71 "Blackbird". After passing through the turbine, the exhaust, together with the compressor bleed air, entered the afterburner. 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. The highest altitude recorded on an SR-71 Blackbird is 25,929 meters. Due to the excessive cost of operating both A-12 and SR-71 programs, the SR-71 was chosen to take over Operation Black Shield at Kadena in 1968. YF-12, A Record Breaker [107][108] The other route, from Mildenhall over the Baltic Sea, was known as the Baltic Express. 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. 98, 100101. 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. 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. Major sections of the skin of the inboard wings were corrugated, not smooth. [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. As the fastest jet aircraft in the world, the SR-71 has an impressive collection of records and history of service. "Jet Propulsion for Aerospace Applications" second edition, Hesse and Mumford, Pitman Publishing Corporation, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-18757, p375, "F-12 Series Aircraft Propulsion System Performance and Development" David Campbell, J. [56], The SR-71 was powered by two Pratt & Whitney J58 (company designation JT11D-20) axial-flow turbojet engines. YF-12A # 60-6934. 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. [178], Avionics USAF Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay preferred the SR (Strategic Reconnaissance) designation and wanted the RS-71 to be named SR-71. Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/27/2021 | Content www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site. When we are trying to find out if the Serbs are taking arms, moving tanks or artillery into Bosnia, we can get a picture of them stacked up on the Serbian side of the bridge. The aircraft is silhouetted against the sunset. "Lockheed's Blackbirds: A-12, YF-12 and SR-71". Over the years, there were several emergency landings in Norway, four in Bod and two of them in 1981 (flying from Beale) and 1985. [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. This portion of the skin was only supported by widely spaced structural ribs. ", "Exclusive: Skunk Works Reveals SR-71 Successor Plan", "Skunk Works reveals Mach 6.0 SR-72 concept", "EXCLUSIVE: Secret New UAS Shows Stealth, Efficiency Advances", "There Can Be Only One: The Saga of the Only SR-71C Ever Built", "U-2 and SR-71 Units, Bases and Detachments", "Aircraft On Display: Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird. Congress reauthorized the funds, but, in October 1997, President Bill Clinton attempted to use the line-item veto to cancel the $39million allocated for the SR-71. After a meeting with the CIA in March 1959, the design was modified to have a 90% reduction in radar cross-section. Aircraft VOL.11, NO. The SR-71 entered service in January 1966. A closer view of the target area was given by the HYCON Technical Objective Camera (TEOC), which could be directed up to 45 left or right of the centerline. Flights often lasted more than six hours and covered more than 11,265 kilometers (7,000 square miles). 64-17972, flying from New York to London in 1 hour 54 minutes and 56 seconds, for an average speed of 1,806.96 mph. [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. 61-7978) arrives at, 21 March 1968: First SR-71 (AF Ser. Cooper. The shape of the SR-71 was based on that of the A-12, which was one of the first aircraft to be designed with a reduced radar cross-section. SR-71 Blackbird - Absolute Altitude (Sustained Flight) - Manned SR-71 Blackbird: One Flight - Four Speed Records. 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. The aircraft was flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio in March 1990. It reached 20,000 feet (6,100m) of altitude in less than two minutes, and the typical 80,000 feet (24,000m) cruising altitude in another 17 minutes, having used one third of its fuel. Years before the Powers incident, the CIA had commissioned a study to determine the characteristics for a reconnaissance aircraft that could not be shot down. By 1970, the SR-71s were averaging two sorties per week, and by 1972, they were flying nearly one sortie every day. [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. There were also trainer versions of the A-12 and SR-71. However, by the mid-1980s, these SR-71 generals all had retired, and a new generation of USAF generals mostly wanted to cut the program's budget and spend its funding on different priorities, such as the very expensive new B-2 Spirit strategic bomber program. Very often an aircraft would return with rivets missing, delaminated panels or other broken parts such as inlets requiring repair or replacement. [102] Pilots did report that missiles launched without radar guidance and no launch detection, had passed as close as 150 yards (140m) from the aircraft. "Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1994 and The Future Years.". [38], The Blackbird's tires, manufactured by B.F. Goodrich, contained aluminum and were filled with nitrogen. [19], The outer windscreen of the cockpit was made of quartz and was fused ultrasonically to the titanium frame. We need the [data] that a tactical, an SR-71, a U-2, or an unmanned vehicle of some sort, will give us, in addition to, not in replacement of, the ability of the satellites to go around and check not only that spot but a lot of other spots around the world for us. 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. Landis and Jenkins 2005, pp. [15], The SR-71 designation is a continuation of the pre-1962 bomber series; the last aircraft built using the series was the XB-70 Valkyrie. Both the first SLAR and ASARS-1 were ground-mapping imaging systems, collecting data either in fixed swaths left or right of centerline or from a spot location for higher resolution. Capture of the plane's shock wave within the inlet is called "starting the inlet". Blackbird diaries, Air & Space, December 2014/January 2015, p. 46. The funding was later cut to $72.5million. To start the engines, triethylborane (TEB), which ignites on contact with air, was injected to produce temperatures high enough to ignite the JP-7. It decelerates further in the divergent duct to give the required speed at entry to the compressor. The SR-71's specially designed engines converted to low-speed ramjets by redirecting the airflow around the core and into the afterburner for speeds greater than Mach 2.5. 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. 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. [26]:204 While the SR-71 survived attempts to retire it in 1988, partly due to the unmatched ability to provide high-quality coverage of the Kola Peninsula for the US Navy,[119][26]:194195 the decision to retire the SR-71 from active duty came in 1989, with the last missions flown in October that year. [N 5][47][48], The air inlets allowed the SR-71 to cruise at over Mach3.2, with the air slowing down to subsonic speed as it entered the engine. The Blackbirds Pratt & Whitney J58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner to facilitate cruise at supersonic speeds. Show more Show more 7:16 Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. 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. As the U-2 was called Kellys Angel, or Angel, Lockheeds designs for its successor were designated with an A prefix for Archangel. The CIA gave the contract to Lockheeds A-11, which was modified and secretly re-designated the A-12. 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.

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