16/02/2026
The legendary Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird 🇺🇸
• Top speed: Mach 3+ (2,200+ mph)
• Service ceiling: 85,000+ ft
• Role: Strategic reconnaissance during the Cold War
• Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney J58 afterburning turbojets
The J58 engines were built for sustained Mach 3 flight. At high speed, they functioned almost like turbo-ramjets, with much of the thrust coming from the inlet system and afterburner rather than the core itself.
Designed by Lockheed’s Skunk Works, the SR-71’s primary defence wasn’t weapons, it simply outran any threat.
This example (61-7962) is now on display at Imperial War Museum Duxford. The only Blackbird exhibited outside the United States.
An icon of speed, altitude, and engineering innovation.
