>>513175732
what I find amusing about all the 'muh blackbird' internetfans that post all the kino pics, is that the SR-71 was functionally obsolete by the time any picture of it after 1974 was taken, every pic you see online or in books (including the famous one by Sled Driver) are of a "literal" flying museum piece. Which was kept in USAF service, for specialized/occasional use, for three more decades. Yeah it was faster/higher than any _plane_ but its mission as reconnaissance was 90+% supplanted by satellites
SR's predecessor, the Central Intelligence Agency's A-12 was a photographic-overflight only airplane just like the original U-2 was (the USAF's SR-71 had additional crewmember, weight and electronic sensors for recon with two giant cameras removed in comparison to the A-12), but it was obsolete on entering service with the CIA in 1966 because of KH-8 GAMBIT-3. And even the USAF's SR, that had entered service in1968, was made completely obsolete in mid-70s with intro of KH-11 KENNEN (Evolved Enhanced CRYSTAL) that had real-time digital imaging capability.

Pic is the Central Intelligence Agency's inventory of A-12 OXCARTs on flight line with the USAF's first couple YF-12A interceptors at Groom Lake circa November 1963
(the A-12 wasn't ready for operational recon missions with CIA until almost 3 years later, and the Air Force's SR-71 wouldn't make its first flight until 22 Dec '64)
All museum pieces within 5 years from this group portrait