Before the SR-71 Blackbird There Was the YF-12 — A Mach 3 Interceptor Armed With Missiles That Could Kill From 100 Miles Away

Before the SR-71 Blackbird There Was the YF-12 — A Mach 3 Interceptor Armed With Missiles That Could Kill From 100 Miles Away

The Lockheed YF-12 Hit Mach 3 and 80,257 Feet in 1965 — Then the Tet Offensive Ended Its Air Force Career In the 1960s, the Soviet Union’s nuclear triad included a strong bomb-delivery segment. The U.S. Air Force needed a high-speed, high-altitude fighter-interceptor to counter this threat. The aircraft that emerged was impressive in its speed and altitude. The Lockheed YF-12 was a force of nature, and to document it, we personally took original…