Any SR-71 Blackbirds in Service Now

[Elmer Fud]

Are there any Sr-71's still in service? I know they were all suppose to be moth balled but what's the real skinny? We sure could use them with all that's going on in the middle east now.

 

[tomgoodman]

Sr-71

Are there any Sr-71's still in service? I know they were all suppose to be moth balled but what's the real skinny? We sure could use them with all that's going on in the middle east now.

I think the last one flying was at NASA's Dryden research facility, Edwards AFB. They used it to test a scramjet (supersonic-combustion ramjet) engine mounted on the back.

 

[TankerDriver]

Why could we use them in the Middle East? With all the Predator, Global Hawk and satellite technology, why would we need that thing?

 

[psysicx]

They still have U-2's.

 

[Slice121]

Are there any Sr-71's still in service?

Not that you know about...

 

[Huggyu2]

The Sled's last flight was October 1999. Can't remember for sure, but it might have been the Edwards AFB Airshow that year.

 

[JimNtexas]

The SR-71 has been replaced by the Blackstar. Maybe.

 

[tomgoodman]

SR-71 replacement

The SR-71 has been replaced by the Blackstar. Maybe.

The "two stage to orbit" idea sounds a lot like the old "Dyna-Soar" project. The AF had astronaut trainees preparing for that mission until it was cancelled. Whatever the SR-71s replacement will be for the high-threat recon role, expect an unmanned vehicle. Good as the Blackbird was, it needed replacement--the original CIA contract for the single-seat version was signed in the EISENHOWER administration!

 

[Metro752]

The SR-71 has been replaced by the Blackstar. Maybe.

nice website

 

[lowtimedriver]

The "two stage to orbit" idea sounds a lot like the old "Dyna-Soar" project. The AF had astronaut trainees preparing for that mission until it was cancelled. Whatever the SR-71s replacement will be for the high-threat recon role, expect an unmanned vehicle. Good as the Blackbird was, it needed replacement--the original CIA contract for the single-seat version was signed in the EISENHOWER administration!

About two months ago I was laying on a beach in Dana Point, Ca, and I saw the contrails of a vehicle that was so high, I couldn't see the aircraft, but only the contrails. It was traveling East and went from horizon to horizon in about two minutes. It wasn't a rocket or a missile as I have seen many launches from Vandenburg, and it was without a doubt, the fastest aircraft I have ever seen. Makes you wonder.