On 14 April 1986, Operation El Dorado Canyon featured US air attacks on Libya in retaliation for the bombing of a Berlin discotheque used by US military personnel. The operation involved a strike group of 18 USAF F-111s supported by a variety of USN and USMC aircraft. On the second day, an SR-71 Blackbird piloted by Major Brian Shul and RSO Major Walter Watson entered Libyan airspace at a whopping 2,125 mph to do BDA.
As the SR-71 approached the exit point of its mission, it started receiving launch indications from Libyan SAM sites. Shul related the tale in his book “Sled Driver” about how the spectacular performance of the aircraft helped them to outrun the missiles and return safely to RAF Mildenhall.
“In April 1986, following an attack on American soldiers in a Berlin disco, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Muammar Qaddafi’s terrorist camps in Libya. My duty was to fly over Libya and take photos recording the damage our F-111s had inflicted,” Shul wrote. The moment they crossed into Libyan airspace, they received missile launch signals. Shul immediately thrust the speed higher, betting their lives on the performance of the SR-71 against the missiles.
The SR-71 was designed to cruise at more than Mach 3; during this mission, it certainly proved it. Shul describes how the plane, built to fly deep into hostile territory, never missed a beat, even as they pushed it beyond its official speed limit. “The plane was flying a mile every 1.6 seconds, well above our Mach 3.2 limit. It was the fastest we would ever fly,” Shul said.
Tim Yarrow, an Electrical Engineer at Lockheed’s Skunk Works from 1974-1994, corroborated Shul’s account of how fast the Blackbird could go. He said the top speed listed for the Blackbird was officially Mach 3.2, but it could go much, much faster. “Shul’s narrative of flight at or above Mach 3.5 is so far the most detailed evidence available of SR-71 top speeds,” Yarrow said.
On a cruise, the SR-71’s J58s were acting more like ramjets than turbojets, swallowing more than 100,000 cubic feet of air per second. It was a singularly smooth and confident performance, almost as if the airplane reveled in these high Mach numbers. “With spikes and doors as tight as they can get, we are racing against the time it could take a missile to reach our altitude,” Shul wrote.
But as they drew near to the Mediterranean, Shul and Watson felt some semblance of relief. The DEF panel, which had been flashing with missile tracking signals, fell silent. Then, Shul finally throttled down their incredible speed, and the SR-71, like a proud thoroughbred, started slowing down only when they were well out of danger.
The SR-71 Blackbird outran Gaddafi’s SAMs at Mach 3.5 and onward, which was very slow for that plane, and that act remains a testament to its unparalleled speed and engineering marvel. This sortied not only spoke volumes about the aircraft itself but much about the skill and bravery of its crew.