An SR-71 Blackbird Hit Mach 3.43 and Blew Out Both Inlets. The Air Force Says That Wasn’t Even the Fastest a ‘Blackbird’ Ever Flew.

An SR-71 Blackbird Hit Mach 3.43 and Blew Out Both Inlets. The Air Force Says That Wasn’t Even the Fastest a ‘Blackbird’ Ever Flew.

What’s undisputed is the fact that the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane (AKA the “Habu” in honor of a highly venomous pit viper [scientific name Protobothrops flavoviridis] native to Okinawa) remains the fastest air-breathing, crewed aircraft ever built. Yes, the X-15 was twice as fast—at Mach 6.7—but that baby was rocket-powered, not air-breathing, even though it has officially been retired for 27 years, and therefore is one of aviation histo…