The SR-71 Blackbird Beat 4,000 Missiles (But What About the F-14 Tomcat?)

What You Need to Know: The SR-71 Blackbird, known for being the fastest crewed jet in history, evaded over 4,000 missiles during its service. However, in training exercises, it faced simulated defeats against U.S. F-15 Eagles and F-14 Tomcats, which were stacked with advantages.

-Despite these results, when the Blackbird pilots dropped the rules, no fighter could match the SR-71’s Mach 3+ speeds and high-altitude dominance.

-These exercises, designed to challenge America’s best fighter pilots...