In the old times of war where there were no satellites to spy on the enemy regions, it was so hard to sneak through for short instances of spying. The ideal solution, back then, was the SR-71 Blackbird!

Spy Plane

A spy plane was the best solution to spying on war enemies. It was designed by the U.S. following the cold war between them and the Soviet Union. One of the main goals was to design a spy plane that would not be detected by the enemy and would not be shot down. Another aim was to design a spy plane that can fly higher and at a very high speed.

Fastest Aircraft in the World

The SR-71 was designed many years ago; however, it still stands as the fastest aircraft in the whole history of aviation. It was designed to fly at a speed more than Mach 3! This is even thrice the sound speed! Yet, the SR-71 was capable of even exceeding the designated speed!

Retirement

The SR-71 has first retired in 1990 at a time when the Soviet Union hadn’t been demolished yet. However, the U.S. Air Force reactivated briefly from 1995-to 1998. Nasa, as well, had been using the SR-71 aircraft for a few research missions until 1999.

Cost

Operating the SR-71 was enormously expensive. The SR-71 cost $200‘000 PER HOUR! In addition, it had a special fuel. This fuel was also very expensive costing around $18‘000 PER HOUR and as per the dollar currency rate of 1989!

References

• https://aerocorner.com/blog/blackbird/
• https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/sr-71-spy-plane-just-how-fast-could-fastest-plane-ever-fly-181198
• https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/sr-71-blackbird-fastest-plane-earth-and-most-expensive-179857
• https://www.wallpaperflare.com/military-aircrafts-lockheed-sr-71-blackbird-lockheed-sr71-wallpaper-swkv (Cover Photo)