National Security Journal on MSN

‘We would blow up’: An SR-71 Blackbird suffered catastrophic engine failure at Mach 2.88 and 68,000 feet over Oklahoma

An SR-71 Blackbird suffered catastrophic right engine failure at approximately Mach 2.88 and 68,000 feet over Oklahoma in ...

The SR-71 Blackbird's secret drone sibling flew 4 missions & failed every one

The D-21 drone was developed to be an early spy drone carried by an SR-71-related aircraft and then B-52, but failed on every ...
autoevolution

Testing Begins on Combined Cycle Engine That'll Grow to Challenge SR-71 Blackbird Record

Back in 1976, at the height of the Cold War, one of America's most secretive planes, the SR-71 Blackbird, managed to achieve a tremendous feat: it traveled at a speed of Mach 3, which is 2,193.2 mph ...

Why The SR-71C 'The Bastard' Was The Only Blackbird Never Meant To Fly

At this point in the Blackbird program, all the specialized tooling that Lockheed Martin had invented to work with these ...
The National Interest

Did the CIA Help Create the SR-71 Blackbird? It’s Complicated

The SR-71 was derived from the A-12 Oxcart, a black project also built by Lockheed’s famed “Skunk Works” division for the CIA.
The National Interest

The SR-71 Blackbird Can’t Run on Jet Fuel. Here’s What It Uses Instead.

Ordinary jet fuel would boil and combust inside the Blackbird’s fuel tanks—meaning the aircraft must use a special fuel blend that is nearly impossible to light by accident. The SR-71 Blackbird ...