Aviation Republic on MSN

95,000ft and Mach 3.2: Why speed alone was not enough

Design studies showed that even aircraft flying above 95,000 feet at Mach 3.2 could still be detected by radar. Attempts to ...
Modern Engineering Marvels on MSN

The SR-71 Blackbird’s speed secret: Mach 3.2 on paper, faster in reality

Blackbird SR-71 did not survive through concealing but through escape. Lockheed had constructed the Skunk Works of the SR-71 in the wake of the 1960 U-2 shootdown in the belief that, once spotted, the ...