The chines also acted like leading-edge extensions, which increase the agility of fighters such as the F-5, F-16, F/A-18, MiG-29, and Su-27. [63], Originally, the Blackbird's J58 engines were started with the assistance of two Buick Wildcat V8 internal combustion engines, externally mounted on a vehicle referred to as an AG330 "start cart". They had a second cockpit for an instructor pilot. This close-up, head-on view of NASA's SR-71A Blackbird in flight shows the aircraft with an experimental test fixture mounted on the back of the airplane. SR-71 was designed to outperform every Soviet aircraft and missile with speed and altitude, following the 1960 incident, when the Soviets shot down CIA reconnaissance aircraft 1960 and captured its pilot Gary Powers. For comparison, the best commercial Concorde flight time was 2 hours 52 minutes and the Boeing 747 averages 6 hours 15 minutes. [64][65], Several exotic fuels were investigated for the Blackbird. On September 1, 1974, Major James Sullivan and his backseater, Major Noel F. Widdifield, set a speed record in SR-71A serial no. The CIA approved a US$96million contract for Skunk Works to build a dozen spy planes, named "A-12", on 11 February 1960. We do not know whether they then went on to move across that bridge. Merely accelerating would typically be enough for an SR-71 to evade a SAM;[3] changes by the pilots in the SR-71's speed, altitude, and heading were also often enough to spoil any radar lock on the plane by SAM sites or enemy fighters. Retired USAF Colonels Don Emmons and Barry MacKean were put under government contract to remake the plane's logistic and support structure. The fact is that the real performances are still classified even today. Thus, there are doubts that the US has abandoned the concept of spy planes to complement reconnaissance satellites. ", U-2 / A-12 / YF-12A / SR-71 Blackbird & RB-57D WB-57F locations. [121], The SR-71 program's main operational capabilities came to a close at the end of fiscal year 1989 (October 1989). The aircraft was meant to be powered by the Pratt & Whitney J58 engine, but development ran over schedule, and it was equipped instead with the less powerful Pratt & Whitney J75 initially. However, the USAF refused to spend the money. The TEB produced a characteristic green flame, which could often be seen during engine ignition. [103], While deployed at Okinawa, the SR-71s and their aircrew members gained the nickname Habu (as did the A-12s preceding them) after a pit viper indigenous to Japan, which the Okinawans thought the plane resembled. Finally, scramjets with supersonic combustion cover the range of high supersonic to hypersonic speeds. The aircraft can fly more than 2200 mph (Mach 3+ or more than three times the speed of sound) and at altitudes of over 85,000 feet. A general misunderstanding of the nature of aerial reconnaissance and a lack of knowledge about the SR-71 in particular (due to its secretive development and operations) was used by detractors to discredit the aircraft, with the assurance given that a replacement was under development. The aircraft is silhouetted against the sunset. [52] One response to a single unstart was unstarting both inlets to prevent yawing, then restarting them both. [66] However, the amount of fuel that leaked was not enough to make the refueling necessary; the planes refueled because the maximum speeds of the aircraft were only possible with aerial refueling. They refueled from a KC-135, accelerated. The gone but not forgotten Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird takes flight at sunset on its way to making a Mach 3.2 thunder run. During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (Mach 3.2 and 85,000 feet, 25,900 meters), allowing it to outrace or entirely avoid threats. [26], In 1988, Congress was convinced to allocate $160,000 to keep six SR-71s and a trainer model in flyable storage that could become flightworthy within 60 days. Several aircraft have exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs, but not in sustained flight. [81][83], Over its operational life, the Blackbird carried various electronic countermeasures (ECMs), including warning and active electronic systems built by several ECM companies and called Systems A, A2, A2C, B, C, C2, E, G, H, and M. On a given mission, an aircraft carried several of these frequency/purpose payloads to meet the expected threats. When we are trying to find out if the Serbs are taking arms, moving tanks or artillery into Bosnia, we can get a picture of them stacked up on the Serbian side of the bridge. SR-71 "Blackbird". A second round of armed JA-37s from ngelholm replaced the first pair and completed the escort to Danish airspace. Still-active USAF pilots and Reconnaissance Systems Officers (RSOs) who had worked with the aircraft were asked to volunteer to fly the reactivated planes. [30] Metallurgical contamination was another problem; at one point, 80% of the delivered titanium for manufacture was rejected on these grounds.[31][32]. [19], The outer windscreen of the cockpit was made of quartz and was fused ultrasonically to the titanium frame. [N 2] This USAF version was longer and heavier than the original A-12 because it had a longer fuselage to hold more fuel. Every fact and statistic is just mind-blowing! It set world records for altitude and speed: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet on July 28, 1974, and an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 miles per hour on the same day. Much like the SR-71, the A-12 was about 30-meters (100-feet) long, had a wingspan of 17 meters (55 feet), and weighed 54,431 kilograms (120,000 pounds). These were not a feature on the early A-3 design; Frank Rodgers, a doctor at the Scientific Engineering Institute, a CIA front organization, discovered that a cross-section of a sphere had a greatly reduced radar reflection, and adapted a cylindrical-shaped fuselage by stretching out the sides of the fuselage. [57][58] The engine was most efficient around Mach3.2,[59] the Blackbird's typical cruising speed. Landing speeds were also reduced, as the chines' vortices created turbulent flow over the wings at high angles of attack, making it harder to stall. [46] The angle of incidence of the delta wings could be reduced for greater stability and less drag at high speeds, and more weight carried, such as fuel. An advanced, long-range, Mach 3.2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Very often an aircraft would return with rivets missing, delaminated panels or other broken parts such as inlets requiring repair or replacement. On that same day, the aircraft set the Speed Over a Closed Course record of 2,193.167 mph. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a two-seat twin-engine long-range supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft produced by Lockheed Corporation. This position reflected the spike shock wave repeatedly between the spike center body and the inlet inner cowl sides, and minimized airflow spillage which is the cause of spillage drag. [118] Opponents estimated the aircraft's support cost at $400 to $700million per year, though the cost was actually closer to $300million. [35] Within 20 seconds the aircraft traveled 4,500 feet (1,400m), reached 240 miles per hour (390km/h), and lifted off. Merlin, Peter W. "The Truth is Out There SR-71 Serials and Designations". Also, with the allocation requiring yearly reaffirmation by Congress, long-term planning for the SR-71 was difficult. No. [33] The heat would have caused a smooth skin to split or curl, whereas the corrugated skin could expand vertically and horizontally and had increased longitudinal strength. Beginning in 1980, the analog inlet control system was replaced by a digital system, which reduced unstart instances. According to Richard Graham, a former SR-71 pilot, the navigation system was good enough to limit drift to 1,000ft (300m) off the direction of travel at Mach3.[73]. Kloesel, Kurt J., Nalin A. Ratnayake and Casie M. Clark. The 1970s proved to be the most noteworthy period for the high-Mach Blackbird. Supersonic flights generally lasted no more than 90 minutes before the pilot had to find a tanker. [104], Congress's disappointment with the lack of a suitable replacement for the Blackbird was cited concerning whether to continue funding imaging sensors on the U-2. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [26] At sustained speeds of more than Mach 3.2, the plane was faster than the Soviet Union's fastest interceptor, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, which also could not reach the SR-71's altitude. Bleed tubes and bypass doors were designed into the inlet and engine nacelles to handle some of this pressure and to position the final shock to allow the inlet to remain "started". These were called the TA-12, SR-71B, and SR-71C. Throughout its thirty-four-year career, the SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft. The SR-71's specially designed engines converted to low-speed ramjets by redirecting the airflow around the core and into the afterburner for speeds greater than Mach 2.5. YF-12A # 60-6934. On 29 November 2018, the four Swedish pilots involved were awarded medals from the USAF.[116][117]. During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (Mach 3.2 and 85,000 feet, 25,900 meters), allowing it to outrace or entirely avoid threats. The funding was later cut to $72.5million. Los Angeles, California, to Washington, D.C., distance 2,299.7 miles (3,701.0km), average speed 2,144.8 miles per hour (3,451.7km/h), and an elapsed time of 64 minutes 20 seconds. The high temperatures generated in flight required special design and operating techniques. [19] It is a common misconception that the planes refueled shortly after takeoff because the jet fuel leaked. [100][101] Over the course of its reconnaissance missions during the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese fired approximately 800 SAMs at SR-71s, none of which managed to score a hit. Twelve SR-71s were lost and one pilot died in accidents during the aircraft's service career. No. [16], During the later stages of its testing, the B-70 was proposed for a reconnaissance/strike role, with an "RS-70" designation. Also, the SR-71 program's "product", which was operational and strategic intelligence, was not seen by these generals as being very valuable to the USAF. Food was contained in sealed containers similar to toothpaste tubes which delivered food to the crewmember's mouth through the helmet opening. US Air Force supersonic aircraft, 19641998, "SR-71" redirects here. NASA was the final operator of the Blackbird, who used it as a research platform, retiring it in 1999. [55] During troubleshooting of the unstart issue, NASA also discovered the vortices from the nose chines were entering the engine and interfering with engine efficiency. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. [111] The most common site for the lock-on was the thin stretch of international airspace between land and Gotland that the SR-71s used on their return flights. On 28 July 1976, SR-71 serial number 61-7958 set an absolute speed record of 1,905.81 knots (2,193.2 mph; 3,529.6 km/h), approximately Mach 3.3. Lockheed found that washing welded titanium requires distilled water, as the chlorine present in tap water is corrosive; cadmium-plated tools could not be used, as they also caused corrosion. Locals nicknamed the SR-71 Habu, after a poisonous pit viper found on the neighboring Ryukyu Islands. [N 5][47][48], The air inlets allowed the SR-71 to cruise at over Mach3.2, with the air slowing down to subsonic speed as it entered the engine. In late 1957, the CIA approached the defense contractor Lockheed to build an undetectable spy plane. Thankfully, this possibility seemed less and less likely, and the SR-71 was also capable of conventional intelligence gathering. This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 07:27. This lack of immediate real-time capability was used as one of the justifications to close down the program. [4][5] Eleven of these accidents happened between 1966 and 1972. [25][26] The SR-71 was designed to minimize its radar cross-section, an early attempt at stealth design. The R-12 also had a larger two-seat cockpit, and reshaped fuselage chines. No. American aerospace engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the aircraft's innovative concepts. The dark color led to the aircraft's nickname "Blackbird". The SR-71 had a radar cross-section (RCS) around 110sqft (10m2). The 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (1 SRS) kept its pilots and aircraft operational and active, and flew some operational reconnaissance missions through the end of 1989 and into 1990, due to uncertainty over the timing of the final termination of funding for the program. In the Blackbird, mission success . Peak speeds during this flight were likely closer to the declassified top speed of over Mach3.2. The aircraft, however, was detected on radar as soon as overflights began and it was only a matter of time before one would be intercepted. In 1989, SR-71 operations were suspended, and the SR-71 program was soon terminated after flying for 24 years with the Strategic Air Command. Modifications were made to provide a data-link with "near real-time" transmission of the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar's imagery to sites on the ground.[104]. [11][127][128][129] Several aircraft have exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs, but not in sustained flight. Both the first SLAR and ASARS-1 were ground-mapping imaging systems, collecting data either in fixed swaths left or right of centerline or from a spot location for higher resolution. It carried one highly sophisticated, downward-looking film camera, but the plan was to eventually outfit the craft with an infrared camera, side-looking radar, and a gamma spectrometer. St. Louis, Missouri, to Cincinnati, Ohio, distance 311.4 miles (501.1km), average speed 2,189.9 miles per hour (3,524.3km/h), and an elapsed time of 8 minutes 32 seconds. We rely on the generous support of donors, sponsors, members, and other benefactors to share the history and impact of aviation and spaceflight, educate the public, and inspire future generations. "[99], From the beginning of the Blackbird's reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam and Laos in 1968, the SR-71s averaged approximately one sortie a week for nearly two years. 28, 1976 in fact, SR-71 61-7962 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 (although SR-71 61-7953 unofficially reached 86,700 feet in 1968). Two A-12s were modified to carry and launch the Lockheed D-21 remotely piloted reconnaissance drone, which would be powered by a Marquardt ramjet engine. The aircraft flew at an altitude of over 80,000 feet (24,000 m) and at speeds over 2,190 miles per hour (3,520 km/h). Swedish Air Force fighter pilots have managed to lock their radar on an SR-71 on multiple occasions within shooting range. Unlike the unarmed Blackbird, which used speed in its defense, the YF-12 was armed with three air-to-air missiles. ", "SR-71 Online - SR-71 Flight Manual: Section 1, Page 1-20", "SR-71A-1 Flight Manual, Section IV, p. Goodall, James and Jay Miller. Its initial purpose would have been to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance; that is, looking over the enemys situation after a nuclear exchange. [28] During its service life, no SR-71 was ever shot down. All this left the SR-71's status uncertain until September 1998, when the USAF called for the funds to be redistributed; the USAF permanently retired it in 1998. [23] Production of the SR-71 totaled 32 aircraft with 29 SR-71As, two SR-71Bs, and the single SR-71C.[24]. One plane was almost hit by a missile on 26 August 1981 over the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea but managed to evade and out-fly it. 61-7950) delivered to, 22 December 1964: First flight of the SR-71, with Lockheed test pilot Robert J "Bob" Gilliland at Palmdale, 21 July 1967: Jim Watkins and Dave Dempster fly first international sortie in SR-71A, AF Ser. The SR-71's record setting speed and high-altitude flights helped it keep enemies at bay. [131] This equates to an average speed of about Mach2.72, including deceleration for in-flight refueling. Here's a list the top speed, highest and quickest distance between two points. Itek KA-102A 3648in (9101,220mm) camera. The U.S. Air Force had played a huge role in supporting the CIAs A-12 program in terms of money, aerial refueling support, use of its facilities at Kadena Air Force Base, and various transport. Two records set: World Absolute Closed Circuit Speed Record over a 1000 Kilometer Course (The SR-71 is a Class C-1 Group III jet engine aircraft, same as the Mig-25 Foxbat) - 2092.293 MPH, surpassing the previous Absolute Speed Record of 1853 MPH and the World Class Speed Record of 1815 MPH set by a Russian Mig-25 Foxbat in October, 1967. The program's cancellation was announced on 28 December 1966,[13] due both to budget concerns[14] and because of the forthcoming SR-71, a derivative of the A-12. This proportion increased progressively with speed until the afterburner provided all the thrust at about Mach 3. Titanium was in short supply in the United States, so the Skunk Works team was forced to look elsewhere for the metal. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents with none lost to enemy action. The SR-71 was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft during the 1960s by Lockheed's Skunk Works division. After passing through the turbine, the exhaust, together with the compressor bleed air, entered the afterburner. Morrison, Bill, SR-71 contributors, Feedback column. Less than two weeks . Speculation existed regarding a replacement for the SR-71, including a rumored aircraft codenamed Aurora. This portion of the skin was only supported by widely spaced structural ribs. The U-2 was able to cruise at heights of more than 21,336 meters (70,000 feet), out of the reach of contemporary Soviet surface-to-air missiles and interceptors. "Jet Propulsion for Aerospace Applications" second edition, Hesse and Mumford, Pitman Publishing Corporation, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-18757, p375, "F-12 Series Aircraft Propulsion System Performance and Development" David Campbell, J. [17] The CIA's A-12 was a better photo-reconnaissance platform than the USAF's R-12, since the A-12 flew somewhat higher and faster, and with only one pilot, it had room to carry a superior camera[14] and more instruments. The CIA ordered 12 of these aircraft, and starting in 1965, A-12s began flying missions as part of Operation Black Shield out of Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa, Japan. The same day another SR-71 set an absolute speed record of 3,529.6 kilometers per hour (2,193.2 miles per hour), approximately Mach 3.3. Graham, a former 1st-SRS and 9th-SRW commander, presented in 1996 what he viewed as a factual summary, not an opinion, of how the SR-71 provided some intelligence capabilities that none of its alternatives (such as satellites, U-2s, and UAVs) were providing in the 1990s (when the SR-71 was retired and then re-retired from Air Force reconnaissance duty. [4][5] In 1989, the USAF retired the SR-71 largely for political reasons; several were briefly reactivated during the 1990s before their second retirement in 1998. 61-7972, when the Astro-Inertial Navigation System (ANS) fails on a training mission and they accidentally fly into Mexican airspace, 5 February 1968: Lockheed ordered to destroy A-12, YF-12, and SR-71 tooling, 8 March 1968: First SR-71A (AF Ser. The aircraft flew at more than 2200 mph (Mach 3+ or more than three times the speed of sound) and at altitudes over 85,000 feet. Later start carts used Chevrolet big-block V8 engines. NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. Due to the excessive cost of operating both A-12 and SR-71 programs, the SR-71 was chosen to take over Operation Black Shield at Kadena in 1968. This unusual instrument projected a barely visible artificial horizon line across the top of the entire instrument panel, which gave the pilot subliminal cues on aircraft attitude. 11, November 1974. The strategic reconnaissance aircraft could operate at an altitude of . Rob Vermeland, Lockheed Martin's manager of Advanced Development Program, said in an interview in 2015 that high-tempo operations were not realistic for the SR-71. One was along the Norwegian west coast and up the Kola Peninsula, which contained several large naval bases belonging to the Soviet Navy's Northern Fleet. No. The counterargument was that the longer the SR-71 was not upgraded as aggressively as it ought to have been, the more people could say that it was obsolescent, which was in their interest as champions of other programs (a self-fulfilling bias). [81] Initially, the TEOCs could not match the resolution of the A-12's larger camera, but rapid improvements in both the camera and film improved this performance. It had a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Operator (RSO). The rotating machinery had become a drag item[61] and the engine thrust at high speeds came from the afterburner temperature rise. This operating environment makes the aircraft excellent platforms to carry out research and experiments in a To start the engines, triethylborane (TEB), which ignites on contact with air, was injected to produce temperatures high enough to ignite the JP-7. As the SR-71 had a second cockpit behind the pilot for the RSO, it could not carry the A-12's principal sensor, a single large-focal-length optical camera that sat in the "Q-Bay" behind the A-12's single cockpit. Back when they were building the airplane the United States didn't have the ore supplies an ore called rutile ore. Tweet Print Number of views (3119) Tags: Aircraft Records SR-71 Record List On the SR-71, titanium was used for 85% of the structure, with much of the rest polymer composite materials. The design was designated YF-12A in 1962 and it took its first successful Groom Lake flight in the following year. Aircraft VOL.11, NO. An SR-71 during a test flight handled by NASA. [34] Because of this, and the lack of a fuel-sealing system that could handle the airframe's expansion at extreme temperatures, the aircraft leaked JP-7 fuel on the ground prior to takeoff,[35] annoying ground crews. The Blackbird was to retrace and photograph the flightpath of the hijacked 727 from Seattle to Reno and attempt to locate any of items that Cooper was known to have parachuted with from the aircraft. The SR-71 was designed for flight at over Mach3 with a flight crew of two in tandem cockpits, with the pilot in the forward cockpit and the reconnaissance systems officer operating the surveillance systems and equipment from the rear cockpit, and directing navigation on the mission flight path. The start cart was positioned underneath the J58 and the two Buick engines powered a single, vertical drive shaft connecting to the J58 engine and spinning it to above 3,200 RPM, at which point the turbojet could self-sustain. These SR-71 photos were photographed by civilians or members/veterans of the US. YF-12, A Record Breaker 64-17972, flying from New York to London in 1 hour 54 minutes and 56 seconds, for an average speed of 1,806.96 mph. In June 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the line-item veto was unconstitutional. During the Cold War, pilots of the Concorde were asking air traffic control to move the SR-71 out of its way so it could proceed to New York's JF as well as other destinations. [120] Four months after the plane's retirement, General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., was told that the expedited reconnaissance, which the SR-71 could have provided, was unavailable during Operation Desert Storm. On 28 July 1976, SR-71 serial number 61-7962, piloted by then Captain Robert Helt, broke the world record: an "absolute altitude record" of 85,069 feet (25,929m). The USAF may have seen the SR-71 as a bargaining chip to ensure the survival of other priorities. 61-7956, flies its 1,000th sortie, 21 April 1989: SR-71, AF Ser. The SR-71 holds a coast-to-coast speed record of 64 . Air Force and NASA. The squadron finally closed in mid-1990, and the aircraft were distributed to static display locations, with a number kept in reserve storage.[26]. Originally planned as a high . Meanwhile, the Air Force wanted a long-range interceptor aircraft that could fly long distances at triplesonic cruise speed above 21,336 (70,000 feet) to intercept enemy bombers with Hughes Falcon air-to-air missiles. [84] After landing, information from the SLAR, ELINT gathering systems, and the maintenance data recorder were subjected to postflight ground analysis. On one occasion, one complete wing with engine was replaced as the easiest way to get the plane airborne again. Crickmore, Paul F. "Lockheed's Blackbirds A-12, YF-12 and SR-71A". In 1976, the SR-71 Blackbird flew at a sustained altitude of 85,069 feet with top speeds of 2,193 MPH, setting records of top speed and altitude that haven't been beaten to this day. When the A-12's performance potential was clearly found to be much greater, the USAF ordered a variant of the A-12 in December 1962,[17] which was originally named R-12 by Lockheed. [42] Drawing on early studies in radar stealth technology, which indicated that a shape with flattened, tapering sides would reflect most energy away from a radar beam's place of origin, engineers added chines and canted the vertical control surfaces inward. The SR-71 Blackbird is a supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. [81] ELINT-gathering systems, called the Electro Magnetic Reconnaissance System, built by AIL could be carried in the chine bays to analyze electronic signal fields being passed through, and were programmed to identify items of interest. [123], Retired USAF Colonel Jay Murphy was made the Program Manager for Lockheed's reactivation plans. ", "Exclusive: Skunk Works Reveals SR-71 Successor Plan", "Skunk Works reveals Mach 6.0 SR-72 concept", "EXCLUSIVE: Secret New UAS Shows Stealth, Efficiency Advances", "There Can Be Only One: The Saga of the Only SR-71C Ever Built", "U-2 and SR-71 Units, Bases and Detachments", "Aircraft On Display: Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird. The investigation determined that the new aircraft would need to be supersonic and have a small radar cross-section. The SR-71 entered service in January 1966. These same factions also forced expensive sensor upgrades to the SR-71, which did little to increase its mission capabilities, but could be used as justification for complaining about the cost of the program. 61-7974, is lost due to an engine explosion after taking off from Kadena AB, the last Blackbird to be lost, 22 November 1989: USAF SR-71 program officially terminated, 6 March 1990: Last SR-71 flight under Senior Crown program, setting four speed records en route to the Smithsonian Institution, 25 July 1991: SR-71B, AF Ser. Clarence Kelly Johnsonand Francis Gary Powers have a discussion with an early U-2 aircraft behind them. It was a slow craft and visible on radar, but it compensated for these deficiencies with its high-altitude capability. [12], The A-12 first flew at Groom Lake (Area 51), Nevada, on 25 April 1962. Marshall, Elliot, The Blackbird's Wake, Air & Space, October/November 1990, p. 31. a list of stars used for celestial navigation, 4200th (later, 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, National Museum of the United States Air Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Aircraft in fiction Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, List of military aircraft of the United States, List of United States Air Force reconnaissance aircraft, "The SR-71 Blackbird: The Super Spy Plane That Outran Missiles", "NASA Armstrong Fact Sheet: SR-71 Blackbird", "U.S. Pushes Hard To Build SR-72 Hypersonic Fighter", "Records: Sub-class: C-1 (Landplanes) Group 3: turbo-jet. Designed at Lockheeds Skunk Works by Clarence Kelly Johnson, the SR-71 performed reconnaissance for the U.S. Air Force for more than 30 years and played a key role in Cold War intelligence gathering. The aircraft was under the command and control of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base and flew out of a renovated hangar at Edwards Air Force Base. Reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam were code-named "Black Shield" and then renamed "Giant Scale" in late 1968. NASA developed a computer to control the engine bypass doors which countered this issue and improved efficiency. [95] The first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later, 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, in January 1966.[96]. [138][139] However, the USAF is officially pursuing the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 UAV to assume the SR-71's strategic ISR role. Paul Crickmore, Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond The Secret Missions, 1993, p. 233.