[Traben]

SR-71A Blackbird
- Reconnaissance Aircraft -




Origin: (Real World)
United States of America

Games Featured In:
Ace Combat 2
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
Ace Combat: Joint Assault

Operators:
Belkan Air Force
Estovakian Air Force
Federal Erusean Air Force
Usean Rebel Force
Vahalia Terrorist Group
Yuktobanian Air Force


Variants:
RF-12A2 Blackbird II (AC3)

Ace Squadron(s) / Pilot(s):
Rabe / BAF (ACZ)
Buzzword/ Vahalia (ACJA)

Overview:
The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird and by its crews as the Habu, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the A-12 and YF-12A. A defensive feature of the aircraft was its high speed and operating altitude, whereby, if a surface-to-air missile launch were detected, standard evasive action was simply to accelerate out of harms way.

The Blackbird was known for its difficult issues with flight at over Mach 3 because of the massive amount of heat generated. As an aircraft moves through the air, the air in front of the aircraft compresses and this heats the air, and the heat conducts into the aircraft's airframe. To help with this, high temperature materials were needed and the airframe was substantially made of titanium.

In order to control costs, they used a more easily-worked alloy of titanium which softened at a lower temperature. Finished aircraft were painted a dark blue (almost black) to increase the emission of internal heat (since fuel was used as a heat sink for avionics cooling) and to act as camouflage against the sky. The aircraft was designed to minimize its radar cross-section, an early attempt at stealth design.


Source(s):
Ace Combat Series (In game data)

AC-CREDITATION:
Original Article By: Heinkel

[Demon Lord Razgriz]

Where is it used in AC0?

[Heinkel]

No accreditation

[Grastens 7]

Off-topic facts:

The craft's hot exhaust air greatly increased the radar signature, and the shape of the plane was near-useless. The fuel that powered the U.S.A.F's force later would run on a mixture of JP-7 and (I believe) a compound involving ceramics to reduce the heat signature of the exhausts.

And, at least 12 planes were lost in training accidents.

[JianDaoXiao]

Article edited. Updated the format.

[JakeHarlow]

I read somewhere that the F-4X was a fighter concept that Israel and America collaborated on that attempted to put the engines of the SR-71 on the airframe of a modified F-4....Too bad it didn't work...

[Grastens 7]

I think it did, but not with the SR-71 engines. It used water injection instead. Performance came close, though, enough for the project to be cancelled in part of the threat it posed to the Blackbird program.

[JakeHarlow]

Ah...I see. So they shut it down in favor of continuing the SR-71 program?

[Grastens 7]

Essentially, yes. That came because they were considering using it for reconnaissance, and as an interceptor would have been possibly the only aircraft capable of intercepting the SR-71.

[Ribbon-Raven]

The Blackbird is flyable in AC3 too, IIRC.

[Apollo]

Where does it appear on AC6?

Thanks!

In the "Anea Landing" misson on Expert+ difficulty. I think.

[JianDaoXiao]

The Blackbird is flyable in AC3 too, IIRC.

dear Night Raven, we have separated articles for this SR-71 and the RF-12A2. Take a look in Aircraft -> Original section.
Regards.
JDX.

[Traben]

Très formal. It would seem that there are fundamental differences between the two craft, even though they have the same basic airframe. To me it didn't seem like that configuration would permit for anything other than straight-flying speed, yet the RF-12A2 has adequate maneuverability.