On April 14, 1986, Operation El Dorado Canyon was composed of U.S. airstrikes against Libya in retaliation for the bombing of a Berlin discotheque frequented by American military personnel. The attack group was composed of 18 U.S. Air Force F-111s, escorted by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft. On April 16, two days later, an SR-71 Blackbird, was piloted by Maj. Brian Shul accompanied by Reconnaissance Systems Officer Maj. Walter Watson, flew into hostile Libyan airspace at a blistering 2,125 mph to perform a bomb damage assessment, a BDA.
As they were coming off target and the mission was about to end, the crew began receiving launch indications from Libyan SAM sites. Shul would go on to detail this harrowing experience in his book “Sled Driver,” telling how incredible SR-71 performance allowed them to outrun the missiles and return safely to RAF Mildenhall.
“In April 1986, in response to the attack on American soldiers in a Berlin disco, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Muammar Qaddafi’s terrorist camps in Libya,” Shul wrote. “My duty was to fly over Libya and take photos recording the damage our F-111s had inflicted. Qaddafi had established a ‘line of death,’ a territorial marking across the Gulf of Sidra, swearing to shoot down any intruder that crossed the boundary. On the morning of April 15, I rocketed past the line at 2,125 mph.”
Shul described how, as they approached their final turn over the desert, Watson informed him of missile launch signals. Shul quickly increased their speed, wagering their lives on the SR-71’s performance. “I estimated that we could beat the rocket-powered missiles to the turn and stayed our course,” he recalled. The SR-71 was opened up well beyond its Mach 3+ cruising speed that day.
Tim Yarrow, an electrical engineer at Lockheed’s Skunk Works from 1974-1994, explained, “According to official documents, the SR-71 flew Mach 3.2, but Shul’s narrative provided detailed evidence that put the aircraft flying above Mach 3.5.” “Shul’s narrative of flight at or above Mach 3.5 is so far the most detailed evidence available of SR-71 top speeds,” he said.
As the Blackbird crossed into Libyan territory, Shul and Watson calculated that they could just make their turn if they increased speed. This was outside of pre-flight planning, but the jet performed flawlessly. “The plane responded with smooth, confident power, delivering speed that was previously the subject of much theory and conjecture,” Yarrow explained.
Shul put it thus: “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.” The SR-71’s Pratt & Whitney J58 engines, more of a ramjet than turbojet at higher velocities, inhaled more than 100,000 cubic feet of air per second to allow the aircraft to reach and sustain such incredible velocity.
As they overhauled the Mediterranean, Watson picked up more missile launch signals. Shul firewalled the throttles and the SR-71 kept accelerating. “The Mach eases to 3.5 as we crest 80,000 feet. We are a bullet now – except faster,” Shul wrote. They finished their turn and left Libyan air space behind, laying down a parting sonic boom over Tripoli.
It was incomparable with any other airframe flown at the time regarding speed and altitude performance for that mission; it could outrun any missile threat developed at that time. This mission was another tribute to the marvel in engineering that the SR-71 was, along with the skill and bravery of its pilots.