Strategic intelligence officer
The SR-71 had to overcome enormous design challenges. Many of the problems have arisen as a result of the heating of the aircraft during long flights at a speed that is 3 times faster than the speed of sound. Due to the high temperatures, the aircraft was painted black, for which he was nicknamed Blackbird (Blackbird). The black paint dissipated heat from the surface of the aircraft, partially dissipating it from the surface of the aircraft, and also reduced the radar visibility of the aircraft. The company developed a spiked-like radio structure with a plastic honeycomb filler, which withstood heating up to 275o C. On the SR-71, radio absorbent material is used in the design of wing socks and elevens. It belongs to the first generation of low-profile aircraft (stealth).
The aircraft was equipped with Pratt-Whitney engines J.58 (JT11D-20B), which develop a thrust of 14470 kg. At the speed of M=3 Try gave only 18% of the thrust, the rest was provided by the afterburner, operating in the mode of direct-flow air-jet engine. Special fuel JP-7 was used to cool the cladding (chassis and Breed), so that it was supplied to the engines heated to 320o. The fuel tanks are located at the top of the fuselage and in the wing brackets. To increase the flight range, the aircraft is equipped with an air refueling system.
Initially, two SR-71A squadrons were formed. However, the high cost of operation, which amounted only to about 56 million dollars in 1975, forced to put one squadron for conservation.
A total of 29 SR-71As and 2 SR-71Bs were built. At the same time, the cost of the entire program exceeded $1 billion.
The SR-71A's crew consists of a pilot and an intelligence equipment operator, who also acts as a navigator and flight engineer and, if necessary, can pilot the aircraft. The new Martin Baker Mk H ejection seats have become part of a rescue system that provides safe ejection from heights of up to 30 km at M=3 flight speed.
A significant portion of the reconnaissance equipment used was specifically designed for the SR-71. Automatic stand-alone strainer navigation system allows you to monitor the stars and calculate the location of the aircraft even during the daytime, and the air data calculator and on-board computer ensure high accuracy of the flight on a given route. Reconnaissance equipment consists of airborne cameras, side view radars and infrared equipment. A panoramic airborne camera is located in the bow instrumentation compartment. It was noted that from a height of 24 km per 1 hour of flight the onboard equipment allows to conduct an exploration of the territory with the area of 155 (260) thousand km2.
After five years of financial hardship, in 1995 the United States Congress again allocated $100 million for the operation of the SR-71 aircraft. This decision was made after analysis of the results of the war in the Persian Gulf in the winter of 1991. The allocated funds are sufficient to ensure the reactivation of two aircraft and to ensure that each of them performs 12-15 flights during the first month of operation.
The first plane was planned to be put into operation in June 1995, the second in September. Air Force warehouses had the necessary set of spare parts for this purpose, including 28 Pratt-Whitney J-58 engines. In January 1997, the SR-71 began flying again.
Scouts in combat formation.
Preparations for the deployment of the SR-71 were made in the summer of 1964, with Bale AFB as their base of choice. The official date of formation of the 4200 th strategic reconnaissance wing is December 14, 1964, and Colonel Douglas Nelson joined the wing command. The wing was part of the U.S. Air Force Strategic Aviation Command. In addition to the SR-71, the wing was to receive sixteen T-38 training T-38s to support intelligence pilots' flying skills; the wing received the T-38 in July 1965. The first SR-71 was moved to Bill from Edwards Air Force Base on January 7, 1966, personally by Colonel Nelson, who was the SR-71B training aircraft, and the first reconnaissance “combat” (the ninth constructed aircraft) arrived at Bill three months later, on April 4. Especially for the new scouts, 30 tankers were converted to the KS-135Q variant and equipped with systems that could operate with JP-7 fuel, which was used on the SR-71. Strategic scouts could only refuel in the air from KC-135Q.
