The SR-71 Blackbird is a spy or reconnaissance aircraft with a distinctive shape and mysterious impression that was operated by the United States Air Force (US) from 1964 to 1998. It was designed to fly very fast and very high, making it very difficult for its air defense weapons to reach. against.
Reported by Smithsonianmag, the selection of 86 pilots was carried out very strictly and was chosen from the best and toughest pilots because this aircraft is actually quite difficult to control without special skills.
The SR-71 is a masterpiece of engineering and impressive innovation in the field of military aviation. An iconic spy plane from the Cold War era in the past, this aircraft with a sleek, dark body still amazes people even decades after it was retired and put in a museum.
As reported by NASA, apart from the US Air Force, the NASA space agency also flew four SR-71s in the 1990s as aircraft for high-speed and high-altitude research as well as support aircraft for the US Air Force.
Want to know more about the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane? Here are 5 facts!
1. Manned aircraft with the fastest jet engine in the world
The SR-71 was made by leading US defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin through its legendary division known for its innovative aircraft products, the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Division. Reported by Lockheedmartin, after the U-2 spy plane was shot down by a Soviet-made surface-to-air missile, the Skunk Works Division began designing a spy plane that was capable of flying faster and higher than previous generations of aircraft and was more difficult to track by enemy radar.
The Skunk Works division succeeded in presenting technology that was considered "impossible" at that time on a very short and critical deadline in the form of a new spy plane which would later have the official design name SR-71 Blackbird. The SR-71 is a secret project that presents a new aircraft that is different and has never existed before, especially in terms of speed.
In terms of speed, the SR-71 is capable of constant speed up to Mach 3.3 or three times faster than the speed of sound at an altitude of 85,000 feet or around 25 km from the earth's surface.
Reported by Theaviationgeekclub, the SR-71 is able to cover the distance from New York to London in less than two hours, in comparison current commercial aircraft take 5 to 7 hours to cover that distance. Until now, even though the SR-71 has been retired, it still holds the record as the fastest jet-powered manned aircraft in the world.
2. Airplanes whose airframes are mostly made from Titanium
Reported by Smithsonianmag, the very high operational speed of the SR-71 can increase the temperature in the aircraft's body due to airframe friction with the air to more than 800 Fahrenheit or more than 400 degrees Celsius.
Because of the high temperatures that the aircraft's airframe will experience, the designers of the SR-71 used titanium material, which is known for its heat resistance, for almost the entire airframe or body of the aircraft.
Reported by Livescience, Titanium is a chemical element in the periodic table with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It is known as a superhero element because it is corrosion resistant, heat resistant, very strong and light. Titanium is as strong as steel but 45 percent lighter and twice as strong as aluminum but only 60 percent heavier.
Titanium is also known as a material that is difficult to work and shape. Uniquely, in the 1960s, Titanium supplies were still difficult and one of the best sources came from the Soviet Union, so special operations were carried out to obtain supplies through various intermediary countries.
3. Reportedly shot by missiles thousands of times
The SR-71 was created as a reconnaissance aircraft to spy on and take photos of enemy territory as information for the benefit of US intelligence agencies. At that time there were things that could not be photographed by spy satellites orbiting the earth, so the role of the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft through the camera it carried became very vital for collecting high-value images and information from enemy territory.
One of the biggest risks for aircraft entering enemy territory is the threat of surface-to-air missiles (SAM). In that era, Soviet surface-to-air missiles became a nightmare for US fighter pilots.
As reported by nationalinterest.org, around 4,000 missiles were fired at the SR-71 during its operational period, but not a single missile was able to bring down the SR-71 because of the sophistication of its missile deterrent, speed and extraordinary operational height.
The first missile fired at an SR-71 aircraft occurred in July 1968 when the Vietnam War was raging. At that time, the US Air Force SR-71 was conducting a sortie flight over North Vietnamese territory, two missiles were fired by North Vietnamese troops but did not hit the target.
With its extreme speed and altitude, the pilot and crew of the SR-71 aircraft use special pressure suits and helmets with the same specifications as those used by astronauts.
4. 32 aircraft were built and retired in 1998
Throughout its operational history, 32 SR-71s were produced and although there were a number of accidents that befell it, not a single aircraft was shot down by the enemy. Reported by Popularmechanic, the SR-71 is capable of flying 15,000 miles or around 24,000km with aerial refueling to demonstrate its ability to carry out global missions.
Reported by Smithsonianmag, due to the high operational and maintenance costs of the SR-71 and the increasing development of spy satellite technology, in the 1990s the US Air Force decided to retire the SR-71 from their fleet. A number of aircraft are in museums, including one number 972 which broke 4 international speed records at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center, Virginia.
For a number of pilots and their crew, the SR-71 was aviation technology ahead of its time that is still difficult to believe could have been built and operational in its time. SR-71 technology represents a major leap for future military aviation.
5. It is reported that a successor is being developed, called the SR-72
Reported by Popularmechanics, Lockheed Martin reportedly has ongoing plans to continue the legacy of the SR-71 in the development of the SR-72, which is nicknamed "The Son of Blackbird". According to some information, the SR-72 is an unmanned hypersonic aircraft with Mach speed. 6 or six times faster than the speed of sound is touted as the successor to the SR-71, although this secret project is still shrouded in mystery to this day.
Speculation regarding the development of the SR-72 intensified again when Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works Division was involved in making the film Top Gun Maverick, which was released in May 2022.
In the film, it is shown in the opening scene of the film a fictional hypersonic aircraft called Darkstar which is described as having Mach speed 10 or ten times faster than the speed of sound with Scramjet propulsion (Supersonic combustion Ramjet).
The Darkstar design, a full-scale mock-up of which was created by the Skunk Works Division to be featured in the film, is considered to have design similarities to the SR-72 currently under development.
Aerospace technology is a technology that has developed very rapidly in a short time. Starting in 1903, when the Wright brothers succeeded in flying the "Flyer", the first simple engine and manned aircraft in the world, then in 1939-1945 when World War II broke out, piston engine aircraft were far more complex than aircraft technology. previously emerged until jet technology that emerged at the end of WWII gave birth to commercial planes and sophisticated fighter jets in the period that followed until today.
Hopefully this information can broaden your insight into one of the legendary supersonic reconnaissance aircraft from the Cold War era which is considered one of the masterpieces of the aviation world...!! What do you think.?
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