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SR-71 Blackbird (Surveillance Aircraft)

* Unit cost: $270 million (adjusted for inflation)
* Year Introduced: 1966
* Number Built: 32, not including prototypes
* Length: 107 ft 5 in (32.74 m)
* Wingspan: 55 ft 7 in (16.94 m)
* Weight (MTOW): ~170,000 lb (77,111 kg)
* Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney J58 turbojet/ramjet-mode engines (~32,500 lbf / 144.6 kN thrust each with afterburner)
* Top Speed: Mach 3.3+; absolute recorded speed ~2,193.17 mph (3,529 km/h)
* Range: ~2,900 nmi (~3,337 mi, ~5,371 km) ferry; mission range varies with refueling
* Service Ceiling: ~85,000 ft (~25,900 m)
* Payload: Strategic reconnaissance — high-resolution optical cameras, infrared sensors, side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), ELINT/COMINT suites; no offensive armaments
* Aircrew: 2 (pilot and reconnaissance systems officer)

Arguably the most iconic aircraft ever built, the SR-71 was a true technical marvel, generations ahead of its contemporaries. Crafted largely from titanium to withstand the heat of Mach 3+ flight, the SR-71 operated above 80,000 feet and was so fast that it could outrun the surface-to-air missiles that were fired at it.

Developed in secret at Lockheed’s experimental “Skunk Works” division during the 1960s, the SR-71 personified the Cold War like few other aircraft, operating behind enemy lines to collect intelligence with relative impunity—too fast and too high to defend against. Ultimately, the advanced aircraft was done in by the end of the Cold War, and the advent of satellites capable of fulfilling its mission from space.