DC Wings - Spy Planes (1996)

For more than half a century, the CIA and U.S. military have relied on a sinister-looking black jet to go deep behind enemy lines for vital intelligence-gathering missions. The most famous aircraft projects are Lockheed's U-2 “Dragon Lady” and SR-71 “Blackbird” reconnaissance planes. During the early years of the Cold War, the most effective way to gather strategic intelligence about the Soviet Union and its allies was manned overflight. Lockheed's U-2 was spectacularly successful in this role. More than 50 years after its first flight in conditions of great secrecy, the Lockheed U-2 still flies valuable reconnaissance missions around the globe. After a Soviet surface-to-air missile battery showdown with a USAF U-2 spy plane near the city of Sverdlovsk in 1960, the US government realised they needed a reconnaissance plane that could fly even higher – and outrun any missile and fighter launched against it. The answer was the SR-71 Blackbird. It was closer to a spaceship than an aircraft, made of titanium to withstand the enormous temperatures from flying at 2,200mph. The ultimate flying speed demon not only served the U.S. military's needs for decades, but also shattered speed and altitude records for manned air-breathing jet aircraft.

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