Where Is The SR-71 Blackbird Now? Still the Fastest Plane on Earth

by Maya Carlin

(Washington DC) The aviation industry has felt the need for more speed since its inception. Some pursued speed for mere thrills or to set records. However, in many cases, faster airplanes have practical uses. On the commercial side, airlines and cargo carriers are able to advertise decreased trip times. On the military side, speed often equates to survival. No aircraft better exemplifies this than the SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest aircraft ever built.

SR-71: Design and Development

The Lockheed Martin Corporation has played a leading role as both a designer and manufacturer in America’s aviation industry. From the Constellation, the first pressurized airliner to enter service, to the F-35 Lightning II, the most advanced fighter jet in the world, this company knows how to build airplanes. 

That was clear as far back as the 1950s, when the team at the secretive Skunk Works came up with the U-2 spy plane, a high-flying reconnaissance aircraft that was supposed to be undetectable to Soviet radars. Although the U-2 failed to live up to that promise, the team at Skunk Works swiftly turned to the challenge of building a plane that could not be shot down.

During the Blackbird’s development, designers had to contend with several unique challenges. Learning from the failures of the U-2, the SR-71 incorporated some of the earliest stealth technology. Its unique shape, with a sharp edge — or hard chine — running along the fuselage was designed to reduce its radar return. 

This, combined with the placement of the engines and some of the first ever radar-absorbing paint, allowed the engineers to reduce the radar cross section of the aircraft by 90%.

Video Above: Air Force 6th-Gen Stealth Fighters Control Attack Drones