The SR-71 Blackbird, secretly designed by the United States during the Cold War, still holds the record for the highest altitude in horizontal flight and the highest speed for a non-rocket-powered aircraft more than 50 years after its introduction. From the 1960s through the 1990s, the spy plane flew higher and faster. The National Interest magazine revealed in a report on January 1 that the SR-71 Blackbird has never been shot down in more than 30 years of reconnaissance missions and has dodged an estimated 4,000 anti-aircraft missiles in its lifetime.
Designed in secret in the late 1950s to navigate the edge of space, the SR-71 Blackbird was the U.S. Air Force’s famous 3.2 times the speed of sound long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft, designed by Lockheed based on the A-12, and became the official U.S. Air Force “spy plane” family after its first flight on Dec. 22, 1964. After its first flight on December 22, 1964, it became an important member of the U.S. Air Force’s “spy plane” family and was retired from service only in 1998.
The SR-71 Blackbird flew so fast and so high that it flew directly over enemy territory, but still kept enemy missiles at bay. The National Interest noted that according to a 2017 report in Airman magazine, the Blackbird dodged all 4,000 missiles fired at it and was not once scratched by a missile. “To this day, it remains the only Air Force aircraft that has not lost a crew member, either in the air or on the ground.”
“As the first generation of low radar reflective area aircraft, the Blackbird was designed with a number of advanced technologies of the time, such as semi-rammed engines and titanium fuselages, making it the most sophisticated military weapon of its time, however, because some of the cutting-edge technologies were still not mature enough at the time, the Blackbird and its predecessor, the A-12, both had some problems and had very limited stealth performance. However, the Blackbird and its predecessor, the A-12, had some problems and very limited stealth performance due to the lack of maturity of some cutting-edge technologies at the time.
Despite some of the technical problems, the Blackbird was still the best in the world at high altitude and high speed, able to escape enemy aircraft and missiles at Mach 3.2 (3.2 times the speed of sound). The Blackbird was unable to exceed its altitude and speed.
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