Editing Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (section)

==== European flights{{Anchor|European flights|Baltic Express}} ====
European operations were flown from RAF Mildenhall, England, with two weekly routes. One was along the [[Coastline of Norway|Norwegian west coast]] and up the [[Kola Peninsula]], monitoring several large naval bases belonging to the Soviet Navy's [[Northern Fleet]]. Over the years, there were several emergency landings in Norway, four in Bodø and two of them in 1981, flying from Beale, in 1985. Rescue parties were sent in to repair the planes before leaving. On one occasion, one complete wing with engine was replaced as the easiest way to get the plane airborne again.<ref name="SpionflyNO">{{cite news |last1=Bonafede |first1=Håkon |date=22 April 2012 |title=SPIONFLY, DEN KALDE KRIGEN – Spionfly landet i Bodø |trans-title=Spy plane, The Cold War – Spy plane landed in Bodø |url=http://www.side3.no/spionfly-landet-i-bod/3380954.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404143706/http://www.side3.no/spionfly-landet-i-bod/3380954.html |archive-date=4 April 2014 |access-date=11 September 2017 |work=[[Vi Menn]] |location=Norway |language=NB |via=[[:nb:Side3]] |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/bodo.html |title=SR-71 Bodo Norway Operations |first=Leland |last=Haynes |access-date=7 October 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Baltic Sea map.png|The Baltic Express route entered through [[Denmark]] and the narrow corridor between Sweden and [[East Germany]].|thumb|right|upright=1]]
The other route was known as the ''Baltic Express'', which started from Mildenhall and went through [[Jutland]] and the [[Danish straits]] before going out over the [[Baltic Sea]].<ref name=Skuddhold /> At the time, the [[USSR]] controlled the airspace from the [[Deutsche Demokratische Republik|DDR]] to the [[Gulf of Finland]], with [[Finnish neutrality|Finland]] and [[Swedish neutrality#The Cold War|Sweden pursuing neutrality]] in the Cold War. This meant that [[NATO]] aircraft entering the Baltic Sea had to fly through a narrow corridor of international airspace between [[Skåne County|Scania]] and [[Western Pomerania]], which was monitored by both the [[Swedish Air Force|Swedish]] and [[Soviet Air Forces]]. Starting a counter-clockwise 30-minute loop, the Blackbirds would then [[reconnoiter]] along the Soviet Union's coastal border, before slowing down to Mach 2.54 to make a left turn south of [[Åland]], and then follow the Swedish coast back towards Denmark. If the SR-71s attempted the turn at Mach 3, they could end up violating Swedish airspace, and the Swedes would [[Ground-controlled interception|direct]] [[Saab 37 Viggen|Viggens]] to intercept the offending aircraft.<ref name=Skuddhold /><ref name=AGCViggen />

The combination of a monitored entry point and a fixed route allowed the Swedes and the Soviets a chance to [[Scrambling (military)|scramble]] interceptors.<ref name=Skuddhold /> Swedish radar stations would observe the [[15th Air Army#After 1945|15th Air Army]] dispatch [[Su-15]]s from [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvia]], and [[MiG-21]]s and [[MiG-23]]s from [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Estonia]], although only the Sukhois would have even a slim chance of successfully intercepting the American aircraft.<ref name=AGCViggen /> The greater Soviet threat came from the MiG-25s [[16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division|stationed]] at [[Eberswalde#Transport|Finow-Eberswalde]] in the DDR. The Swedes noted that the Soviets usually would send a single [[MiG-25|MiG-25 "Foxbat"]] from Finow to intercept the SR-71 on their way back out of the Baltic Sea. With the Blackbird flying at {{convert|22|km|ft|order=flip|abbr=on}}, the Foxbat would regularly close to an altitude of {{convert|19|km|ft|order=flip|abbr=on}}, precisely {{convert|3|km|mi|order=flip|abbr=on}} behind the SR-71, before disengaging. The Swedes interpreted this regularity as a sign that the MiG-25 had successfully simulated a shoot-down.<ref name=Skuddhold /><ref name=AGCViggen >{{cite news |last1=Leone |first1=Dario |title=VIGGEN Vs BLACKBIRD: HOW SWEDISH AIR FORCE JA-37 FIGHTER PILOTS WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE RADAR LOCK ON THE LEGENDARY SR-71 MACH 3 SPY PLANE |work=The Aviation Geek Club |date=9 January 2018 |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=10 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110152553/https://theaviationgeekclub.com/viggen-vs-blackbird-swedish-air-force-ja-37-fighter-pilots-able-achieve-radar-lock-legendary-sr-71-mach-3-spy-plane/ |url=https://theaviationgeekclub.com/viggen-vs-blackbird-swedish-air-force-ja-37-fighter-pilots-able-achieve-radar-lock-legendary-sr-71-mach-3-spy-plane/ |url-status=live |quote=Almost every time the SR-71 was about to leave the Baltic, a lone MiG-25 Foxbat belonging to the 787th IAP at Finow-Eberwalde in [East Germany] was scrambled. […] Arriving at its exit point, the “Baltic Express” was flying at about 22km and the lone MiG would reach about 19km in a left turn before rolling out and always completing its stern attack 3km behind its target. We were always impressed by this precision; it was always 22km and 3 km behind the SR-71. [this would seem to suggest that these were the parameters necessary for its weapons system to effect a successful intercept if the order to fire was ever given.]}}</ref><ref name=rbth2012>{{cite news |last1= Simha |first1= Rakesh Krishnan |title= Foxhound vs Blackbird: How the MiGs reclaimed the skies |work= [[Russia Beyond the Headlines]] |publisher= [[Rossiyskaya Gazeta]] |date=3 September 2012 |access-date=30 May 2015 |archive-date=9 August 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190809232332/https://www.rbth.com/articles/2012/09/03/foxhound_vs_blackbird_how_the_migs_reclaimed_the_skies_17363 |url= https://www.rbth.com/articles/2012/09/03/foxhound_vs_blackbird_how_the_migs_reclaimed_the_skies_17363 |url-status= live |quote=Swedish air defense [...] radar screens [...] could see the much older but faster MiG-25 screaming in towards the Blackbird. Shortly after the MiG-31s had harried the SR-71 in the Arctic area, a lone MiG-25 Foxbat stationed at Finow-Eberswalde in the former GDR would intercept it over the Baltic. The Swedes observed the SR-71 would always fly at 72,000 ft and the MiG-25 would reach 63,000 ft before completing its stern attack 2.9 km behind the Blackbird. “We were always impressed by this precision, it was always 63,000 ft and 2.9 km behind the SR-71," a retired Swedish Air Force flight controller told Crickmore.}}<!--page 2 only clickable, not linkable or archivable--></ref>

The Swedes themselves would typically assert their neutrality by dispatching Saab 37 Viggens from [[Scania Wing|Ängelholm]], [[Bråvalla Wing|Norrköping]] or [[Blekinge Wing|Ronneby]]. Limited by a top speed of Mach&nbsp;2.1 and a [[Ceiling (aeronautics)|service ceiling]] of {{cvt|18|km|ft|order=flip}}, the Viggen pilots would line up for a frontal attack, and rely on their [[state-of-the-art]] [[avionics]] to climb at the right time and attain a [[missile lock]] on the SR-71.<ref name=Skuddhold /><ref name=AGCViggen /> Precise timing and target illumination would be maintained with target location data supplied to the Viggen's [[fire-control computer]] from [[Fire-control radar|ground-based radars]],<ref name=FlyghistoriskRevy>{{cite book |editor-last1=Edlund |editor-first1=Ulf |editor-last2=Kampf |editor-first2=Hans |year=2009 |title=System 37 Viggen |series=Flyghistorisk Revy |volume=Specialnr 2009 |url= |language=SV |location=[[Stockholm]] |publisher=[[:sv:Svensk Flyghistorisk Förening|Svensk Flyghistorisk Förening]] |issn=0345-3413}}</ref> with the most common site for the [[Missile lock-on|lock-on]] being the thin stretch of international airspace between [[Öland]] and [[Gotland]].<ref name=Mach14 >{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mach 14 |url= |magazine=Mach |language=SV |location=Sweden |publisher= |year=1983 |volume=4 |issue=3 |page=5 |issn=0280-8498}}</ref><ref name=Mach25 >{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mach 25 |url= |magazine=Mach |language=SV |location=Sweden |publisher= |year=1986 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=28–29 |issn=0280-8498}}</ref><ref>Darwal 2004, pp. 151–156.</ref> Out of 322 recorded Baltic Express sorties between 1977 and 1988, the Swedish Air Force claims that they succeeded in attaining missile lock on the SR-71 in 51 of them.<ref name=Skuddhold>{{cite news |last1=Bonafede |first1=Håkon |title=På skuddhold av SR-71 Blackbird |trans-title=At weapons range of the SR-71 |work=[[Vi Menn]] |date=10 May 2018 |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-date=10 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510102459/http://www.side3.no/historie/pa-skuddhold-av-sr-71-blackbird/3423484769.html |url=http://www.side3.no/historie/pa-skuddhold-av-sr-71-blackbird/3423484769.html |url-status=dead |language=NB |location=Norway |via=[[:nb:Side3]] |quote=To vanlige "melkeruter" ble fløyet ukentlig [...] Den andre som ble kalt for "Baltic Express" dekket marinebasene og militærinstallasjonene til DDR og de baltiske landene. På grunn av det trange farvannet, bød ruten på utfordringer med å holde seg utenfor territorialgrensene, og flygerne fulgte nesten alltid den samme identiske ruten. [...] SR-71 kom alltid inn over radiofyret "Codan" 80 km sør for København på kurs rett østover.|trans-quote=Two common "[[milk run]]s" were flown weekly [...] The second, which was called [the] "Baltic Express" covered the Navy bases and military installations of the DDR and the Baltic countries. Because of the cramped waters, the route presented challenges as to keeping outside the territorial borders, and the pilots almost always followed the same identical route. [...] SR-71 always came in over the radio beacon "Codan" 80 km south of Copenhagen[,] heading east.}}</ref><ref name="NTSEFlygplan">{{cite news |author=<!-- Not stated --> |date=2 May 2017 |title=TV: Kärnvapensäkra bunkern styrde flygplanen |trans-title=TV: Aircraft controlled from nuclear weapon secured bunker |url=http://www.nt.se/nyheter/ostergotland/tv-karnvapensakra-bunkern-styrde-flygplanen-om4626725.aspx |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502185029/http://www.nt.se/nyheter/ostergotland/tv-karnvapensakra-bunkern-styrde-flygplanen-om4626725.aspx |archive-date=2 May 2017 |access-date=7 October 2017 |work=Kundservice |location=Sweden |language=SV |via= |quote=Look at time 5:57.}}</ref> However, with a combined closing speed of Mach 5, the Swedes were reliant on the Blackbird not changing course.<ref name=Skuddhold /><ref name=AGCViggen />

[[File:2018-11-28, Swedish Air Force pilots receive USAF Air Medal (45203706835).jpg|Swedish [[Saab 37 Viggen|Viggen]]-pilots being presented with the [[Air Medal|US Air Medal]] in 2018.|thumb|right|upright=1]]
On 29 June 1987, an SR-71{{refn|AF serial number 61-7964<ref name=Skuddhold />|group=N}} was on a mission around the Baltic Sea to spy on Soviet postings when one of the engines exploded. The aircraft, which was at {{cvt|20|km|ft|order=flip}} altitude, quickly lost altitude and turned 180° to the left and turned over Gotland to search for the Swedish coast. Thus, Swedish airspace was violated, whereupon two unarmed<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=When the Swedish Air Force Saab 37 Viggen Saved the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird |via=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Z2Bb-wnls&t=455s |first=Kelly |last=OConnor |publisher=100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref> Saab JA 37 Viggens on an exercise at the height of [[Västervik]] were ordered there. The mission was to do an incident preparedness check and identify an aircraft of high interest. It was found that the plane was in obvious distress and a decision was made that the Swedish Air Force would escort the plane out of the Baltic Sea. A second round of armed JA-37s from Ängelholm replaced the first pair and completed the escort to Danish airspace.<ref name=Skuddhold /><ref name=AGCViggen /><ref name=AFMil181129 /> The event had been classified for over 30 years, and when the report was unsealed, data from the [[National Security Agency|NSA]] showed that multiple MiG-25s with the order to shoot down the SR-71 or force it to land, had started right after the engine failure. A MiG-25 had locked a missile on the damaged SR-71, but as the aircraft was under escort, no missiles were fired. On 28 November 2018, the four Swedish pilots involved were awarded medals from the USAF.<ref name=AFMil181129 >{{cite web |last1=Fratini |first1=Korey |title=AF.mil: Swedish pilots presented with US Air Medal |publisher=[[US Air Force]] |date=29 November 2018 |access-date=7 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508075739/https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1700869/swedish-pilots-presented-with-us-air-medal/ |url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1700869/swedish-pilots-presented-with-us-air-medal/ |url-status=live |language=EN |location=[[Stockholm]] |via= |quote=The U.S. was flying regular SR-71 aircraft reconnaissance missions in international waters over the Baltic Sea known as “Baltic Express” missions. But on June 29, 1987, during one of those missions, an SR-71 piloted by retired Lt. Cols. Duane Noll and Tom Veltri, experienced an inflight emergency. [...] presented the Air Medals to Swedish air force Col. Lars-Eric Blad, Maj. Roger Moller, Maj. Krister Sjoberg and Lt. Bo Ignell.}}</ref>