The SR-71 blackbird was a high altitude, high speed, reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunkworks, and is one of the most famous aircraft in aerospace history.
It was so revolutionary for its time that its engineers had to utilize never-before-used materials in its manufacture and develop new methods to maintain and sustain the aircraft to perform its role of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance over hostile territory.
I recently had the opportunity to visit its predecessor, the A-12 at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. In this first of at least three analyses on the SR-71, we’ll look at the aircraft as a whole, the revolutionary techniques and engineering used in its manufacture, and how this amazing aircraft was among the first to implement aspects of radar cross section reduction, or stealth.
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