Looking on the fastest end of the stick of the jet family is the SR-71 Blackbird. Reaching speeds of Mach 3.35 it is the fastest spy aircraft alive, (as far as I know.) Now don't get me wrong, there are faster aircraft out there such as the X-15. But that thing bearly flies inside the atmosphere. There are only a handfull of Sr-71 (about 28 or so) out there and the USA is the only country that poseses it. The basic design was stricktly for extreme speeds. The skin and inner-frame are made mostly of titanium, stainless steel, and an overall black "paint job" to help it reflect heat , and absorbed enemy radar. Its intricut specialized sensors, were too much for the computers at the time and too much for a pilot to handle. So it was obviously decided to make accommodations for two, the pilot and the systems/mission operator. It began service in 1966, and has so called been retired several times (if you can believe that they don't use it anymore, unless the USA has anything better. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney J58 turbo-ramjet engines the aircraft exceeds speeds of Mach 3+. At that speed its practically a rocket, that only has wings to keep from having a high angle of attack. Its intricut engine design and inflight refueling capabilities, allowes it to virtually fly forever. Unrefueled it can go to a top range of 5,230 km. It has a Ceiling of around 21,400 m. It carries up to 10 cameras, and 9,072 kg of specialized equipment. One Russian pilot aid that the aircraft is so fast, that if we could get behind it, our missiles wouldn't be able to catch it. Specifications Develeper Lockheed Martin Type L-R high speed Recconnaissance Crew 2 Power Plant 2 Pratt & Whitney J58 turbo-ramjet engines Wingspan 16.94 m Length 32.74 m Inflight refueling Avalible Performance Ceiling 25,908 m Max TOW 78,020 kg Payload 9,072 kg Top speed Mach 3.35 3,400 km/h Range 5,230 km 9,072 kg of specialized censors, 10 cameras, active jamming and passive jamming equipment. Armament Specifications Description Data Developer Type Crew Power Plant Wingspan Length Inflight refueling Weight Radar Performance Action Data Ceiling Max Tow / Max Lift Payload Topspeed at sea level at hight Cruise Combat Radius Armament / Ordanace Type Size Max Placement . . .