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The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. During reconnaissance missions the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile.

The SR-71 served with the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998. Although 12 of the 32 aircraft built were destroyed in accidents, none was lost to enemy action.The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, by its crews, Since 1976, it has held the world record for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft.

The SR-71 was the first operational aircraft designed around a stealthy shape and materials. There were a number of features in the SR-71 that were designed to reduce its radar signature. The first studies in radar stealth technology.The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. In 1976, SR-71 serial number 61-7962 broke the world record for its class: an "absolute altitude record" of 85,069 feet (25,929 m).Several aircraft exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs but not in sustained flight. That same day the SR-71 set an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 mph

The SR-71 also holds the "Speed Over a Recognized Course" record for flying from New York to London distance 3,508 miles 1,435.587 miles per hour and an elapsed time of 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds. For comparison, the best commercial Concorde flight time was 2 hours 52 minutes, and the Boeing 747 averages 6 hours 15 minutes.