Few aircraft associated with military aviation can epitomize engineering excellence and sheer speed more than the SR-71 Blackbird. This super spy plane, first unleashed on an unsuspecting world in the early 1960s, was designed to outrun and evade even the most sophisticated of SAMs that could be thrown its way by the USSR and her allies.
However, this is an entirely different matter as far as the Mach 3 speed of the Blackbird is concerned, equal to 36.55 miles per minute or 3,216.4 feet per second. And when the SR-71 streaked across the skies, enemy SAMs barely had time to lock onto their target, and when they did, the Blackbird was way out of range. Across years, the Blackbird outran and evaded more than 4,000 enemy missiles fired at it.
An early form of radar-absorbent paint helped to further reduce its radar cross-section and thus avoid radar detection. Then there is the large heat exhaust plume of the aircraft that makes it quite an easy target for radar systems. It was a cat-and-mouse game that the Blackbird had to engage in perpetually with its electronic countermeasures jamming SAM systems and its high altitude keeping itself out of reach.
One of the closest calls taken by a Blackbird occurred in 1968 during a reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. The crew saw an “R” light on their electronic countermeasures panel when the aircraft broke into North Vietnamese airspace, a clear indication that a North Vietnamese SAM site was tracking the aircraft. An “M” light and an “L” light then came on, indicating that the SAMs had been launched and were coming into focus on the Blackbird.
With less than one minute to influence, the crew was struggling to turn off the ECM jammer, as it was on this frequency that the missile was homing in. The pilot requested countdown updates, and the reconnaissance systems officer replied every ten seconds. In the end, it was saved by the unbelievable speed of the Blackbird that made its way out from those enemy missiles, averting an explosion.
The speed and elusiveness of the Blackbird were not reserved only for the skies over Vietnam. In 1986, a Swedish SAAB J37 Viggen fighter aircraft made a missile lock and got visual on an SR-71, proof in the pudding. Other times, in 1987, Viggen pilots even took handheld photos of the Blackbird the time one of its engines flamed out and guided it to safety.
The SR-71 Blackbird was an engineering marvel and a speed machine inducted by only the finest pilots, reconnaissance systems officers, and an entire crew dedicated to readiness, putting this craft in a position to launch. The optimal capability of the SR-71 ensured that during the Cold War, the United States remained at least one step behind the competition. Its legacy will not be forgotten, bounded within the aviation industry.