Leaving the airspace above New York City at 2,455 miles per hour, SR-71 tail number 64-17972 would set a transatlantic speed record on Sept. 1, 1974.

The SR-71 Blackbird’s earned world record for speed has never been topped by a successor. The fastest jet to ever fly the skies is surprisingly not a fifth-generation platform designed in the last ...

The SR-71 did not simply fade into a museum corner; it left service with the same aura of speed and mystery that defined its entire career. Its retirement years were framed by record-setting dashes ...

More than 60 years after it graced the skies for the first time, Lockheed's SR-71 Blackbird remains the fastest manned plane ever developed. With the ability to hit a maximum speed of 2,193 miles per ...

The SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest aircraft ever built, was ultimately done in by the Air Force’s most notorious and intractable enemy: budget cuts. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird remains one of the most ...

The SR-71 is perhaps the most iconic Cold War spy aircraft, famous for many record-setting flights. Seemingly impervious to loss by enemy defenses, a dozen Blackbirds were lost to accidents. On July ...