The aircraft on display was delivered to the USAF in December 1965. This SR-71A is known to have flown numerous missions from Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan. On 27-28 July 1976, it established a speed record of 2,193.167 mph. It was retired and flown to Robins for display on 23 February 1990.
Lockheed SR-71A
Blackbird
The SR-71 is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A. The first flight of an SR-71 took place on 22 December 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later, 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, California in January 1966. The U.S. Air Force retired its fleet of SR-71s on 26 January 1990 because of a decreasing defense budget and high costs of operations.