SR-71 #955 was a test bird destined to spend her flying career in the US, primarily in Southern California. But this Blackbird had a secret life.
Like all SR-71 Blackbirds with tail numbers below 958, #955 never flew operational missions. As Habu.org explains, the first six SR-71As were kept by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and Lockheed (three each) as flight-test aircraft, used to trial new systems and configurations before they were introduced across the rest of the fleet. The following two airframes produced (#956 and #957) were both SR-71B trainers and likewise never operated outside the United States.
SR-71 #955 was a test aircraft, intended to spend its flying career in the United States, mainly over Southern California. Yet this Blackbird also had a hidden chapter in its history: #955 was actually deployed overseas once.
Equipped with the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System (ASARS-1), a real-time, high-resolution reconnaissance radar carried on the SR-71, the aircraft had all-weather, day-and-night, long-range mapping capability. ASARS-1 can detect and precisely locate both stationary and moving ground targets, and the system is capable of surveying more than 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface in a single hour.
The U.S. Navy needed a way to photograph Soviet submarines armed with ballistic missiles capable of flying over the North Pole and striking targets in the United States. What they required was high‑resolution radar.
Aircraft #955 was flown to Beale and repainted with the tail number #962, so as not to tip off aircraft spotters in Europe who would quickly notice an unfamiliar serial. She left Beale Air Force Base (AFB) in California on Jul. 9, 1983. Before reaching RAF Mildenhall, her route took her over the Barents Sea, where the SR succeeded in photographing and identifying Soviet submarines. After two additional missions in Europe, she returned to Beale on Jul. 20, was repainted with her original tail number #955, and then sent back to Palmdale.
Keeping the details of her secret mission to herself.
The mission proved so successful that it revitalized the SR-71 program. Increasing numbers of requests began coming in from both the Navy and the CIA. As a result, on Apr. 5, 1984, Det 4 received blanket clearance from the United Kingdom government to base two SR-71s permanently at RAF Mildenhall. The Blackbirds remained there until the Cold War ended; it is fair to say that the SR-71s played a part in winning it.
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Photo by Lockheed Martin and U.S. Air Force
