SR-71 Blackbird

E43332

The SR-71 Blackbird is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed’s Skunk Works and renowned as one of the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft ever built.

Aliases (1)

Statements (60)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States military aircraft
high-altitude aircraft
jet aircraft
military aircraft
reconnaissance aircraft
supersonic aircraft
airframeMaterial titanium alloy
alliance NATO reconnaissance support
armament none
callsignConvention "Habu" in Okinawa operations
countryOfOrigin United States
crew 2
crewPositions pilot
reconnaissance systems officer
defense speed and altitude
derivedFrom Lockheed A-12
designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
developer Lockheed Skunk Works
emptyWeight approximately 67000 lb
engineType Pratt & Whitney J58
era Cold War
firstFlightDate 1964-12-22
fuelType JP-7
height approximately 5.6 m
introduced 1966
length approximately 32.7 m
manufacturer Lockheed Corporation
maximumSpeed over 3 times the speed of sound
maximumSpeedMach 3.2
maximumTakeoffWeight approximately 170000 lb
museumDisplay Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB
NASADesignation YF-12C
notableFeature area-ruled fuselage
canted twin vertical stabilizers
chines along fuselage
in-flight refueling capability
radar cross-section reduction measures
special high-temperature fuel system
numberBuilt 32
numberOfEngines 2
operator NASA
primaryUser United States Air Force
programOrigin Lockheed A-12 program
propulsion afterburning turbojet
range over 3000 nautical miles
record one of the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft ever built
set multiple speed and altitude records
retiredFromUSAF 1990
1998
role intelligence gathering
strategic reconnaissance
serviceCeiling above 80000 ft
status retired
successor satellite reconnaissance systems
tailConfiguration twin tail
usedInConflict Cold War reconnaissance missions
Vietnam War
wingConfiguration delta wing
wingspan approximately 16.9 m

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
housesArtifact
Lockheed U-2 ("Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird")
successor

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