Last updasted: 19 November 2006

Current SR-71 News

• 971 Awaits Transport 971 has had it's wings and nacelles removed and is being stored at Edwards till Evergreen Air Museum can arrange transportation to move it to Evergreen's Museum. -Doug Nelson (28 Nov 2002)

• "Line-Item Veto" Ruled Unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled the "Line-Item Veto unconstitutional, the week of 23 June 1998. This should reverse the "Line-Item Veto" that President Clinton did on funding for the SR-71. So funding should be reinstated to restart (yet again!) the Air Force's SR-71 program. -Aviation Week & Space Tech. (29 June 1998)

• LASRE Completes First Cold-Flow Flight. On 4 March NASA SR-71 #844 flew the first cold-flow flight. Gaseous helium and liquid nitrogen were cycled through the linear aerospike engine checking the plumbing system for leaks and to check engine operating characteristics. The SR flew for 1 hour and 57 minutes, reaching a maxium speed of Mach 1.58 before landing at Edwards AFB, CA. Dryden Research Pilot Ed Schneider piloted the aircraft, while Bob Meyer ran the experiments. -Lockheed Skunk Works Star (27 March 1998)

• First LASRE flight takes place NASA SR-71 #844, flew on 31 Oct 1997 with the Linear Aerospike engine being carried piggyback. This first flight was to check the envelope clearances and a systems test, the Boeing Rocketdyne Div. engine was not fired, the SR-71 reached Mach 1.19 at an altitude of 27,000 -33, 000 ft. Transonic drag encountered with the linear aerospike engine mounted was greater then expected, and further tests for a more fuel efficient way to break through this barrier are needed. The second flight, expected before the end of November, will push the envelope out to Mach 1.5, and will have a "cold flow" operation of the engine with inert gases. The engine is to have it's first inflight firing on the third flight. -NASA, AWST (posted: 14 Nov 1997)

• Clinton Kills SR Funding with Line Item Veto Info is still very scarce, but ABC News announced Tuesday, 15 Oct 1998, that President Clinton killed funding for the Air Force SR-71 program. Which in effect kills the Air Force's SR-71 program, Congress can override the veto, but can they do it in time and is there enough interest in Congress for overriding the veto. -Richard Graham, ABC News, Art Hanley 16 Oct. 1997

• Air Force SR-71 Funding Approved For FY98 Funding for the operations of the 2 Air Force SR-71s has been approved for Fiscal Year 98. -Richard Graham (3 Oct 1997)

• A New Crew for the SR-71 A new crew for the Air Force's SR-71 has been announced, selected for pilot is Capt Greg Barker, he has previously flown T-38s and B-52s and selected for rso is Capt Dale Zimmerman, he has previously flown F-111s (27 missions in Desert Storm), and F-15s. They report in October, Good Luck, Gentlemen! -Richard Graham (10 Sept. 1997)

• LASRE Mated to NASA SR-71 NASA mated the LASRE engine with NASA SR-71 #844 on Tuesday, 26 Aug 1997. The first flight will be "Dry"(no firing of the LASRE engine) to check instrumentation and aerodynamics. These flights are expected to start in September. -Peter Merlin, Ron Girouard

• SR crew Solos Maj. Bert Garrison(pilot) and Capt. Domingo Ochotorena(rso) soloed on 19 Aug. 1997, at Det II, Edwards AFB, CA. They flew a three hour flight at over 75,000 ft, and Mach 3. They will be mission ready by December 1997. Also it was recently announced that Capt. Ochtorena was promoted to Major, Congratulations on both counts! -Space Sentinal (22 Aug 1997)

• 12th Annual Blackbird Association Reunion wrap up The twelfth biennial Blackbird Association reunion was held in Reno, Nevada on June 5-8th. Consisting of former and current SR-71 and U-2 aircrews, maintenance and contractor personnel, the Blackbird Association fosters the unique reconnaissance capabilities of the two aircraft. The guest speaker for the evening banquet was Mr. Jack Gordon , President of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. Mr. Gordon presented The Kelly Johnson Award to Air Force Major Paul Nelson for his work in the Pentagon to keep the U-2 program viable for the future. Air Force Captain Mike "Z-Man" Zimmerman, was presented the Pratt & Whitney Award for his dedication and work on the re-activation of the SR-71s at Edwards AFB, Ca. The General Electric Award was given to Mr. Richard L. Fortin for his accomplishments in re-engining of the U-2S aircraft. Chief Master Sergeant (ret) Don Campbell received the "J.T." Vida Award for his lifetime loyalty and dedication to the SR-71 program. The Hughes Best Detachment Award went to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's Operating Location France (OL-FR), Istres, France, for their sustained U -2 support of Bosnia. -Richard Graham

• LASRE Lives.......The LASRE engine has been test fired at the Phillips Lab at Edwards AFB, CA on 30 April 1997 for the second time and should be test flown on NASA 844 sometime in late August 1997. -Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Star (30 May 1997)

• Newest SR-71 Crew Starts Training The small and select cadre of SR-71 crews have admitted two more members to it's ranks, Bert G. Garrison, Jr. (pilot) and Domingo R. Ochotorena (RSO), both Captains. They are undergoing training as you read this and should be "mission qualified" to fly the Air Force's SR-71 later this year. Also I've heard that there is new search to chose a second new crew. The current SR unit is the highest ranked flying unit in the Air Force, with all crews being Lt. Colonels.

• SR-71 Radar Imagery Direct to End User SR-71 radar imagery can now be disseminated through the US Army's Enhanced Tactical Radar Correlator (ETRAC). This Army developed mobile exploitation and dissemination capibility , can be quickly deployed and disseminate data from a variety of airbourne platforms. Jay Murphy Lockheed's SR-71 Program Manager says, the SR-71 will fly 9 missions in support of Green Flag using the ETRAC, and 2 in support of Advanced Warfighter Experiment (AWE), "which assesses the impact of 'digitization' and other information technologies on tactical operations". Murphy also says "ASARS 1 radar information will be downlinked via a common datalink to ETRAC, where the information will be processed and exploited by the Army, Images will then be provided digitally to Commanders at Nellis AFB for Green Flag and officals at Ft. Irwin for the AWE to assess troop movements and locations". These exercises will prove that the SRs info can be provided to other services other than the USAF, and that it can fit into the '90 Intelligence Architecture -Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Star (28 Feb, 1997)

• SR-71 is Again Operational The Air Force's SR-71s are operational as of 1 January 1997. All crews are mission ready and awaiting word for deployment. The SR will be participating in Green Flag and several other military war games, this year. -Aviation Week, USAF News Service (Sorry, this is a little late-11 Feb 1997)

• A-12 #60-6937 Has Been Restored......And temporarily stored at the Skunk Works while awaiting being assigned to another Air Museum by the USAF Museum. Nine volunteers took 2500 hours to restore the A-12, they are: Jim Daniels, John Stanley, Al Pinkham, Pete Peterson, Everett Mayes, Carl Moore, and Louis Provencio. LMSW Star (27 Sept. 1996)

• USAF SR-71 Funded for FY97 House and Senate Appropriation committees have agreed to fund the Air Force's 2 operational SR-71s for Fiscal Year 1997. Training sorties are being flown now. After training is completed (very soon!), the SRs will be able to fly operational missions again. -Rich Graham, Ron Girouard, and various sources; (21 Sept. 1996)

• The SR-71 Equipped With The Real Time Datlink can map Bosnia in 20 minutes and then download (at 258 megabits of information per second) the info in 10 minutes while still in the air . LMSW (21 June 1996)

• SR-71 Demonstrates Reconnaissance Capabilities At Green Flag The SR-71 based at Det 2 Edwards AFB, CA flew 2 recon missions for the Green Flag intelligence and electric warfare exercise. Neither of the two flights demonstrated the data link for real-time data transmission. The first flight (March 22) used panoramic optical bar camera and the telescopic technical objective cameras. While the second flight (April 9) used the advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASARS), but problems with the new ASARS/data link interface prohibited the real time transfer of the images. Lockheed officals think they solved the problem, and are trying to make the test flight fit within the new flight policies. - Aviation Week & Space Technologies (29 April 1996)

• SR-71 Grounded, On April 15, 1996, Deputy Secretary of Defense John White directed the Air Force to ground the Air Force's SR-71s due to conflicting language in section 304 of the National Security Act of 1947, which states that the DoD may not obligate or expend funds for any intelligence program, even though it has been appropriated, unless there is an independent authorization for that intelligence related activity. Also complicating this is the "Intelligence Authorization Act" which gives the force of law to the conference report accompanying the act. Also Section 102 of the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY-96 provides funding for the modification of the SR-71, but no funding for operating the SR-71. All operations have been suspended, there will be no training, or operational flights, (test flights related to the modification to the SR can still be carried out, though) till the language conflict has been resolved! -Inside the Air Force; and Richard Graham; and Aviation Week & Space Technology.

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