Notes Photographer of original image of the plane is Jeff Tinsley. Summary Color postcard of the SR-71 Blackbird landing at Washington Dulles International Airport in 1990. The plane is housed at the ...

A variant of the SR-71's predecessor program, the faster and higher-flying A-12, actually had a fighter-interceptor sibling in the form of the YF-12. The Air Force felt it needed a Mach 3 interceptor.

The SR-71 set a number of impressive aviation records, many of which remain today unbroken.In 1976, the jet achieved an absolute speed record for a manned aircraft, reaching an astounding 2,193.2 ...

The SR-71 also featured a heavy-duty cooling system, as the aircraft’s Mach 3.2 speed heated the aircraft’s external surface to temperatures beyond 500 degrees. The inside of the windshield ...

The SR-71 is perhaps the most iconic Cold War spy aircraft, famous for many record-setting flights. Seemingly impervious to loss by enemy defenses, a dozen Blackbirds were lost to accidents.

The SR-71 Blackbird’s earned world record for speed has never been topped by a successor. The fastest jet to ever fly the skies is surprisingly not a fifth-generation platform designed in the ...