The Blackbird’s longevity and unequaled combat record marks it as the 20th century’s most advanced high-performance aircraft.

There are few secret projects like U.S. Air Force black projects, and that was certainly the case for the famed SR-71 Blackbird. The SR-71 was no ordinary aircraft but a big, beautiful and state ...

The SR-71 could sustain Mach 3 flight for 90 minutes, at which points it required in-flight refueling. A Blackbird once set the record for flying from New York to London in 1 hour and 54 minutes.

For this reason, “speed is the new stealth” is a slogan that accompanied the unveiling of the SR-72 in 2013. However, the SR-71’s story is a proof that speed has always been the key to stealth.

Officially. (Wink) As many Blackbird aficionados know, the SR-71 was the first stealth aircraft, with a special shape and exterior coating designed to evade radar detection.

During the Cold War, the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane could fly higher and faster than any other – and 55 years after its first flight, it still does.

The Lockheed A-12—a CIA reconnaissance airplane that was later modified into the SR-71—was the first aircraft to incorporate stealth features in its original design.

SR-71 pilots used to say, only half-joking, that unstarts were the Blackbird’s way of punishing them for letting their attention wander to the magnificent view from 80,000 feet.

A new interview with a retired SR-71 Blackbird pilot describes what it was like to fly the world’s fastest airplane.

The SR-71 also pioneered stealth technology with a small radar cross section, making it the perfect and impervious spy platform.