Cold War Aviation
Cold War Aviation: The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
No reconnaissance aircraft has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastet jet aircraft. The Blackbird was developed from the single-seat A-12, which first flew in 1962. The CIA flew the first operational A-12 sortie, a surveillance flight over North Vietnam, in 1967. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U.S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version, designated the YF-12A. Lockheed's "Skunk Works." however, proposed a "specific mission" version for conducting post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. this system evolved into the SR-71.
Blackbird crews provided important intelligence during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, as well as pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 U.S. air raid on Libya. in 1987, SR-71 crews flew missions over the Persian Gulf, which revealed Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.
At the time the SR-71 became operational, satellites were already beginning to replace reconnaissance aircraft. As the effectiveness of space-based surveillance systems and ground-based air defense grew, Air Force enthusiasm for the expensive SR-71 program waned, and operations ceased in 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress briefly revived the SR-71 in 1995. However, wrangling over operating budgets soon ended the Blackbird program. The last SR-71 flight was at an airshow at Edwards Air Force Base in October 1999.
this certificate documents the record-setting flight of NASM's SR-71 on September 13, 1974. It was presented to Air Force Captain "Buck" Adams by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the official keeper of aviation records.
For more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR-71_Blackbird
Cold War Aviation
Cold War Aviation: The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
No reconnaissance aircraft has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastet jet aircraft. The Blackbird was developed from the single-seat A-12, which first flew in 1962. The CIA flew the first operational A-12 sortie, a surveillance flight over North Vietnam, in 1967. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U.S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version, designated the YF-12A. Lockheed's "Skunk Works." however, proposed a "specific mission" version for conducting post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. this system evolved into the SR-71.
Blackbird crews provided important intelligence during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, as well as pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 U.S. air raid on Libya. in 1987, SR-71 crews flew missions over the Persian Gulf, which revealed Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.
At the time the SR-71 became operational, satellites were already beginning to replace reconnaissance aircraft. As the effectiveness of space-based surveillance systems and ground-based air defense grew, Air Force enthusiasm for the expensive SR-71 program waned, and operations ceased in 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress briefly revived the SR-71 in 1995. However, wrangling over operating budgets soon ended the Blackbird program. The last SR-71 flight was at an airshow at Edwards Air Force Base in October 1999.
this certificate documents the record-setting flight of NASM's SR-71 on September 13, 1974. It was presented to Air Force Captain "Buck" Adams by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the official keeper of aviation records.
For more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR-71_Blackbird