The Blackbird
The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft served as the foundation for the development of the SR-71, also referred to as the “Blackbird” or long-range, advanced strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, received the first SR-71 aircraft to enter into service in January 1966, but the first SR-71 flight occurred on December 22, 1964.
During its operational lifetime, the SR-71 provided intelligence about the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the US raid on Libya in 1986, and the revelation of Iranian Silkworm missile batteries in 1987. The USAF ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990.
The Blackbird could survey 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from 80,000 feet, demonstrating its ability to operate at extremely high altitudes and speeds. It was extremely difficult for any surface-to-air (SAM) missile or fighter jet in service at the time to get a radar lock on it.
45 degrees of bank for a designated high bank turn
Thus, the rumors that the SR-71 stopped flying because it could be intercepted by jet fighters then in service with neutral countries in the Baltic or by Soviet MiGs are untrue. There were so many factors in place to protect the Blackbird from being fired upon, some of which cannot be discussed in detail as they are still classified.
Former SR-71 pilot David Peters confirms this statement;
‘We were allowed 45 degrees of the bank for a designated high bank turn. Radius is about 60 miles at 3.2. But your change of heading is pretty rapid; you are just covering a lot of ground and air doing it. Most people don’t understand the dynamics. We were not going to outmaneuver much of anything. What matters is the proximity to start with. The speed and range of the protagonist.
‘One of the real highlights of flying above Mach 3 and above 80,000 feet is nobody is up there with you. They have to see you (radar) first. How far away is significant because we are not just larking along.
‘If you are talking surface-to-air missiles, how long does it take to launch get to 80,000 feet? How long does it take, and how close does it have to get to be able to maneuver if we are not going straight ahead?
‘Very few missiles could go far enough to make up 36 or more miles per minute.
‘All this is not taking any consideration of our ECM capability.’
A Nuclear S-300 fired ahead of the SR-71
Peters concludes;
‘The bottom line is the only surface-to-air missile that had any chance at all was the SA-10 [SA-10 Grumble, the NATO reporting name of the S-300 Soviet SAM system] if it was nuclear. That would allow them to fire it out ahead of us with an air burst at altitude, which we could possibly not circumvent. Airborne I.e. interceptors none had any chance what so ever.’
Check out Habubrats SR-71‘s Twitter profile, SR71Habubrats‘s Instagram profile, and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Habubrats‘s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.
Photo by Russian Ministry of Defence and Lockheed Martin