Aircraft pictures of Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird

The SR-71, unofficially known as the "Blackbird," is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft. The first flight of an SR-71 took place on December 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in January 1966. The U.S. Air Force retired its fleet of SR-71s on Jan. 26, 1990, because of a decreasing defense budget and high costs of operation.

Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 remained the world's fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft. From 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth's surface per hour. On July 28, 1976, an SR-71 set two world records for its class - an absolute speed record of 2,193.167 mph and an absolute altitude record of 85,068.997 feet. Source: USAF factsheet

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Pictures:	Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird
Location:	Air Force Armament Museum · Eglin AFB (Valparaiso/Ft. Walton Beach), FL, USA
Date:	May 2010
Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird (61-7959), c/n: 2010 "Big Tail", United States Air Force (USAF) Note: This Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird #61-7959 set a speed record with 2,193 mph (= 3,529 km/h) at an altitude of 85,069 ft. (= 25,928 m). It is now on display at the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin AFB in Florida.

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Pictures:	Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird
Location:	Edwards AFB (EDW/KEDW), Rosamond, CA, USA
Date:	26 October 2003
Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird (61-7955), c/n: 2006, United States Air Force (USAF) Note: This Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird #61-7955 is on display at the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) Museum at Edwards AFB, CA. The last flight was on January 24th, 1985.

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