The SR-71 Blackbird, a marvel of engineering and innovation, remains unparalleled in speed even fifty years after its inception. Designed during the Cold War era, this iconic aircraft not only broke ...

More than 60 years after it graced the skies for the first time, Lockheed's SR-71 Blackbird remains the fastest manned plane ever developed. With the ability to hit a maximum speed of 2,193 miles per ...

Sleek, black and evil in appearance, the SR-71 Blackbird was THE masterpiece of Cold War engineering. Flying faster and higher than any fighter, this stealthy reconnaissance aircraft could snoop where ...

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is unlike virtually any plane that came before it, and virtually no planes like it have been made since. Even though the remarkable machine's development began in the ...

Watch the impressive engineering in this in-depth tour of the SR-71 Blackbird's jet engine and you'll see an extraordinary reconnaissance aircraft that still impresses despite taking its first flight ...

The SR-71 could cruise at speeds exceeding Mach 3 and at altitudes exceeding 80,000 feet—both of which represent performance extremes. At such extremes, the airframe generated heat, which posed ...

The SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest aircraft ever built, was ultimately done in by the Air Force’s most notorious and intractable enemy: budget cuts. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird remains one of the most ...

Curator Dik Daso describes the pressure suit worn by SR-71 crew. Learn more about the Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird on display at the National Air and Space Museum's ...

On July 26, 1968, an SR-71 Blackbird was cruising over Northern Vietnam when the aircraft's Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO) noticed the “R” light illuminate on his panel. This warning indicated ...