To survive the extreme heat generated by friction at Mach 3+, the aircraft required radical design solutions:
: It could survey 100,000 square miles of territory per hour from its cruising altitude. Engineering & Design Innovations LockheedSR71Blackbird.rar
: On July 28, 1976, it set absolute records for speed (2,193.167 mph) and altitude (85,068.997 feet). To survive the extreme heat generated by friction