FLYING Classics: Lockheed Created the 'Impossible' SR-71 Blackbird to Replace the U-2

FLYING Classics: Lockheed Created the ‘Impossible’ SR-71 Blackbird to Replace the U-2

Scott Mall

Friday, September 09, 2022 at 08:26 AM ET

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Stealth, beauty, and speed are the hallmarks of the SR-71. [FLYING Archives]

Key Takeaways:

The SR-71 Blackbird was developed by Lockheed's Skunk Works in the 1960s to fulfill a critical Cold War need for a reconnaissance aircraft with unprecedented speed, altitude, and minimal radar signature following the 1960 U-2 incident.
Its design pushed engineering boundaries, requiring innovations like a titanium alloy airframe to withstand extreme temperatures at speeds over Mach 3 and pioneering stealth technology for radar evasion.
Operational from 1966, the SR-71 proved invulnerable to enemy fire, using its exceptional speed (Mach 3.3) and high altitude (85,000+ feet) to outrun over 1,000 missiles, though 12 of 32 aircraft were lost to accidents.
Despite its complexity and high costs, the SR-71 remains an iconic Cold War aircraft, holding unbroken speed and altitude records, providing vital intelligence until its USAF retirement in 1990 and NASA's in 2001.

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Following the loss of a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, the Eisenhower administration sought a new aircraft from Lockheed (NYSE: LMT)—“one that would fly faster than any aircraft before or since, at greater altitude, and with a minimal radar cross section,” according to Lockheed Martin. Lockheed needed “to build the impossible—and do it fast.”

Development work on an aircraft to improve the United States’ intelligence-gathering capabilities had already begun at Lockheed’s Skunk Works in Burbank, California.