Despite its cutting-edge technology, only 32 SR-71 aircraft were ever produced between 1964 and 1998. This limited production run contributed to the Blackbird's mystique and legendary status.

The SR-71 was fast but fussy — getting the Blackbird into the sky took hours of preparation. Once it was airborne though, it set world records which stand today. Speed Demon ...

In the timeline where the U.S. Air Force and the CIA picked the Convair Kingfish over Lockheed's A-12/SR-71 program, they would've had an even crazier jet.

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 ...

The SR-71 was fast but fussy — getting the Blackbird into the sky took hours of preparation. Once it was airborne though, it set world records which stand today. Speed Demon ...

Artist’s conception (right) of an SR-71 at altitude is a view only a spacecraft—or another Blackbird—would have. The first A-12 flew on April 26, 1962.

Following the loss of a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, Lockheed needed “to build the impossible—and do it fast.” Called the SR-71—SR for Strategic ...

In 1990, a Blackbird smashed a transcontinental speed record. On Mar. 6, 1990, SR-71 Blackbird S/N 61-7972 (tail number #972) made its final flight from ...

The SR-71 Blackbird spy plane could fly faster than Mach 3, more than 2,000 miles per hour. This allowed it to easily avoid surface-to-air missiles.