Awesome!

I was reading up on the SR-71 and they said that of the thousands of missiles fired at it over the 35 year period, none ever came close.

In an interesting interview with the first pilot who flew it, everyone had to keep it completely secret. For ten years it was a phantom.... it didn't exist. His wife would ask him how his day went at work and he couldn't say.

that was awesome

I'd say because the SR-71 (Habu) is very expensive to get off the ground. The F-22 ceiling is supposedly 60,000 ft and the SR-71 is over 80,000. The Habu could not get his max speed at lower altitudes. It would still be a good race though.

the SR-71 also takes special fuel (JP-7) and needs a special tanker (for said JP-7) to deliver it.

in 86 we had one make an emergency landing at carswell. He called in over Alaska and was here in less than 40 minutes. they hustled it into a hanger and those of us with a line badge got to go look at it and talk to the pilots. it was very cool.

Coming in hot, speed brake out, gear down and locked.

This acft was amazing,...had to have a special tanker, KC135Q, and was equipped with Liquid Nirogen tanks that displaced the
air spaces in the fuel tanks as the fuel would burn off to keep the fuel 'cool',...Super Plane.

We had them based on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. There was a grassy knoll close to the runways and we would go out there and watch them take off and land. I've got some good pics of it but I can't get my scanner to work or I would post them. The Okinawans called it the Habu after a venomous snake they have on the island. As quickly as it landed it was escorted under armed guard to the hanger. The departure and arrival times were classified but the locals knew just exactly when it would be taken out of the hanger and they would be lined up on the highway with their cameras and telephoto lenses.