The Lockheed SR-71 is an advanced, long range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works as a Black project. The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, and called the Habu by its crews, referring to an Okinawan species of pit viper. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. 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. The SR-71 line was in service from 1964 to 1998, with 12 of the 32 aircraft being destroyed in accidents, though none were lost to enemy action. Since 1976, it has held the world record for the fastest air breathing manned aircraft in existence, which record was previously held by the YF-12.

The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. On 28 July 1976, an SR-71 broke the world record for its class: an absolute speed record of 1,905.81 knots (2,193.17 mph; 3,529.56 km/h), and an "absolute altitude record" of 85,069 feet (25,929 m).^[55][56] Several aircraft exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs but not in sustained flight.

When the SR-71 was retired in 1990, one example was flown from its birthplace at United States Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, to go on exhibit at what is now the Smithsonian Institution's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (an annex of the National Air & Space Museum) in Chantilly, Virginia. On 6 March 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. J. T. Vida piloted the Blackbird, setting a coast-to-coast aircraft speed record: 67 minutes 54 seconds, at an average speed 2,125 miles per hour (3,420 km/h). Three additional records were set within segments of the flight, including an average speed of 2,190 miles per hour (3,520 km/h) measured between the radar gates set up in St. Louis and Cincinnati. These four speed records were accepted by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the recognized body for aviation records in the United States.^[58] An enthusiast site devoted to the Blackbird lists a record time of 64 minutes 20 seconds between Los Angeles and Washington DC for that 6 March 1990 flight.

The SR-71 also holds the "Speed Over a Recognized Course" record for flying from New York to London in 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds, set on 1 September 1974 while flown by U.S. Air Force Pilot Maj. James V. Sullivan and Maj. Noel F. Widdifield, reconnaissance system officer.^[59] This equates to an average velocity of about Mach 2.68, including deceleration for in-flight refueling. Peak speeds during this flight were probably closer to the declassified top speed of Mach 3.2+. For comparison, the best commercial Concorde flight time was 2 hours 52 minutes, and the Boeing 747 averages 6 hours 15 minutes.