Expensive to maintain and fly, the SR-71 was retired from the Air Force in 1990. Blackbird number 972, which set four international speed records that year, now is on display at the Smithsonian ...

Head-on view from slightly above the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, beautifully lit from the darkness of its storage building at the National Air and Space Museum, September 21, 2000. Eric Long / NASM ...

The SR-71 Blackbird is one of the United States' most ... with the record-setting final flight of the aircraft housed at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Lt. Col. Joseph Vida flew the plane ...

The SR-71 “Blackbird” broke the world’s record for sustained altitude in horizontal flight in 1976 when it flew at Mach 3.3 (times the speed of sound). As of 2025, no fighter or proposed ...

NASA released video footage of the SR-71 Blackbird, the high-altitude recon aircraft capable of reaching speeds over Mach 3. More from Military & Defense A triangle pointing right which indicates ...

In 2013, Lockheed Martin announced development of the successor to the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. The SR-71 was capable of reaching speeds over three times the speed of sound, and the SR-72 is ...