Spy planes have quietly shaped global events by gathering intelligence from high above the clouds. This article highlights 13 ...

Watch the impressive engineering in this in-depth tour of the SR-71 Blackbird's jet engine and you'll see an extraordinary reconnaissance aircraft that still impresses despite taking its first flight ...

The SR-71 could cruise at speeds exceeding Mach 3 and at altitudes exceeding 80,000 feet—both of which represent performance extremes. At such extremes, the airframe generated heat, which posed ...

The SR-71 Blackbird was the world's fastest jet. Capable of of flying as high as 85,000 feet at Mach 3.3 (2,193.2 mph), the Blackbird was used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. It ...

-Instead, it was that jet’s high costs that ultimately forced it into permanent retirement—but not before American lawmakers forced the U.S. Air Force to pull a few back into service. The SR-71’s ...

The SR-71 is perhaps the most iconic Cold War spy aircraft, famous for many record-setting flights. Seemingly impervious to loss by enemy defenses, a dozen Blackbirds were lost to accidents. On July ...

The SR-71 Blackbird is easily one of the world's most iconic aircraft. They first took to the skies in the 1960s, and by the turn of the century, they were retired. Nowadays, you can only find SR-71s ...

This story is from an installment of In the Loupe, our weekly insider newsletter about the best of the watch world. Sign up here. What truly set the EMC apart, however, was the concept behind it. The ...

If you've ever looked at your wrist and wished that you had a Cold War momento on it that costs as much as a hypercar, Urwerk has your back with its EMC SR-71 watch that includes material from an ...

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a visitor favorite at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Lieutenant Colonel Ed Yeilding shot ...

-Officially retired due to high costs and improving satellite tech, a former SR-71 RSO, Richard “Butch” Sheffield, reveals in his unpublished book that the decision was politically driven. -The Air ...