United States Air Force - VibeWire Magazine

What SR-71 Blackbird Pilots Had To Do Before Missions That Most Other Pilots In History Have Never Done

The SR-71 was one of the most extreme airplanes ever built and forced pilots to often train and prepare more like astronauts than typical pilots.

The aircraft program is being targeted by critics.

In 2025, the second J-36 demonstrator was seen featuring what appears to be a return to the F-22’s previously unique rectangular exhaust nozzles.

US and China are perhaps the only countries with the industrial base and funding to feasibly go it alone and develop a fullyfledged 6th-gen fighter.

Why the incoming B-21 bomber will rely on both the KC-135 and KC-46 and continue to rely on them after NGAS eventually enters service.

Why the incoming B-21 bomber will rely on both the KC-135 and KC-46 and continue to rely on them after NGAS eventually enters service.

The SR-71 was retired during the ‘peace dividend’ following the end of the Cold War and the emergence satellites and advanced ISR UAVs.

The SR-71 was retired during the ‘peace dividend’ following the end of the Cold War and the emergence satellites and advanced ISR UAVs.

Even though the USAF has indicated it will keep three squadrons of Warthogs in service for a couple extra years, it doesn’t change the calculous.

The B-21 is designed to be a hyper-networked system-of-systems bomber and part of a larger kill chain while the B-2 was more of an isolated bomber.