Editing Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (section)

===Timeline===

====1950s–1960s====
* 24 December 1957: First J58 engine run
* 1 May 1960: [[Francis Gary Powers]] is shot down in a [[Lockheed U-2]] over the Soviet Union
* 13 June 1962: SR-71 mock-up reviewed by the USAF
* 30 July 1962: J58 completes pre-flight testing
* 28 December 1962: Lockheed signs contract to build six SR-71 aircraft
* 25 July 1964: President Johnson makes public announcement of SR-71
* 29 October 1964: SR-71 prototype (AF Ser. No. 61-7950) delivered to [[Air Force Plant 42]] at Palmdale, California
* 7 December 1964: [[Beale AFB]], California, announced as base for SR-71
* 22 December 1964: First flight of the SR-71, with Lockheed test pilot Robert J "Bob" Gilliland at Palmdale, California<ref name=Landis_p58>{{harvp|Landis|Jenkins|2004|p=58}}</ref>
* 21 July 1967: Jim Watkins and Dave Dempster fly first international sortie in SR-71A, AF Ser. No. 61-7972, when the Astro-Inertial Navigation System (ANS) fails on a training mission and they accidentally fly into Mexican airspace
* 5 February 1968: Lockheed ordered to destroy A-12, YF-12, and SR-71 tooling
* 8 March 1968: First SR-71A (AF Ser. No. 61-7978) arrives at [[Kadena AB]], Okinawa to replace A-12s
* 21 March 1968: First SR-71 (AF Ser. No. 61-7976) operational mission flown from Kadena AB over Vietnam
* 29 May 1968: CMSgt Bill Gornik begins the tie-cutting tradition of Habu crews' neckties
* 13 December 1969: Two SR-71s deployed to [[Taiwan]].

====1970s–1980s====
* 3 December 1975: First flight of SR-71A (AF Ser. No. 61-7959) in "big tail" configuration
* 20 April 1976: TDY operations started at [[RAF Mildenhall]], United Kingdom with SR-71A, AF Ser. No. 61-7972
* 27–28 July 1976: SR-71A sets speed and altitude records (altitude in horizontal flight: {{convert|85068.997|ft|m|abbr=on}} and speed over a straight course: {{convert|2193.167|mph|km/h}})
* August 1980: [[Honeywell]] starts conversion of AFICS to DAFICS
* 15 January 1982: SR-71B, AF Ser. No. 61-7956, flies its 1,000th sortie
* 29 June 1987: 61-7964 flying a reconnaissance mission over the Baltic Express when its experienced an engine failure, causing it to drop into Swedish airspace. Swedish [[Saab 37 Viggen|Viggens]] were sent to intercept an SR-71 for violating Swedish airspace. They assessed the emergency situation and rendered support to the aircraft by defending it from potential Soviet threats. The Swedish interceptors escorted the Blackbird until it reached Danish airspace where it was safely recovered. The incident was declassified in 2018 and the four Swedish air force pilots received U.S. Air Medals over 31 years after the incident.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fratini |first=Korey |date=Nov 29, 2018 |title=Swedish pilots presented with US Air Medal |url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1700869/swedish-pilots-presented-with-us-air-medal/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Air%20Medal,have%20tried%20to%20threaten%20it. }}</ref>
* 21 April 1989: SR-71, AF Ser. No. 61-7974, is lost due to an engine explosion after taking off from Kadena AB, the last Blackbird to be lost.<ref name="Landis_p98-101"/><ref name="Pace_p126-7"/>
* 22 November 1989: USAF SR-71 program officially terminated

====1990s====
* 6 March 1990: Last SR-71 flight under Senior Crown program, setting four speed records en route to the Smithsonian Institution
* 20 March 1990: SR-71A #61-7964 (17964) last flight. Delivered to [[Offutt Air Force Base|Offutt AFB]] for permanent display. On display at the [[Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum|Strategic Air and Space Museum]] in Ashland, Nebraska.
* 25 July 1991: SR-71B, AF Ser. No. 61-7956/NASA No. 831 officially delivered to NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at [[Edwards AFB]], California
* October 1991: NASA engineer [[Marta Bohn-Meyer]] becomes the first female SR-71 crew member
* 28 September 1994: Congress votes to allocate $100&nbsp;million for reactivation of three SR-71s
* 28 June 1995: First reactivated SR-71 returns to USAF as Detachment 2
* 9 October 1999: The last flight of the SR-71 (AF Serial No. 61-7980/NASA 844)