---
title: "See Newly Released NASA Footage of the Fastest Plane Ever Flown"
description: "Built by Lockheed Martin in the 1960s and decommissioned in 1998, the SR-71 Blackbird remains the fastest aircraft to have ever been flown."
date: "2017-08-24"
modified: "2017-08-24"
authors:
  - name: "Dom Galeon"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/domgaleon"
url: "https://futurism.com/see-newly-released-nasa-footage-of-the-fastest-plane-ever-flown"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "hypersonic flight"
  - "lockheed martin"
  - "sr-71"
  - "SR-72"
---

# See Newly Released NASA Footage of the Fastest Plane Ever Flown

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SR-71.jpg>)
*Image Credit: NASA \<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/335756main_EC95-43075-2_full.jpg" target="\_blank"\>NASA\</a\>\</em\>*

Now that [Lockheed Martin](<http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us.html>) has [confirmed that they are building the SR-72](<https://futurism.com/lockheed-confirms-secretive-sr-72-hypersonic-plane-will-be-made>), which could be the first hypersonic plane, [NASA](<https://www.nasa.gov/>) has released video footage of its predecessor: the SR-71 Blackbird.

Built in the 1960s by Lockheed using designs that were kept secret in the 1950s, the SR-71 Blackbird is the fastest manned aircraft to have ever flown the skies. To get an idea of how fast, watch the below video of the plane taking off.

https://youtu.be/bJ3kJbv3oVI

Capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 3 (2,200 mph) with a maximum altitude of almost 26,000 meters (85,000 feet), the two-seater SR-71 Blackbird was used as a reconnaissance plane from 1964 to 1998. Lockheed built only 32 of these super-fast planes, and now, they want to build an even faster one that will act as a strike and recon aircraft.

https://youtu.be/KrhJ3vFD3fE

The SR-72, the leading project under Lockheed's [Advanced Development Programs (ADP)](<http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/aeronautics/skunkworks.html>) or Skunk Works, promises to be even faster than the Blackbird. The company wants to develop a plane capable of [hypersonic flight](<https://futurism.com/the-age-of-hypersonic-flight-will-completely-change-how-we-travel>) — speeds of Mach 5 (3,836 mph) and higher — and the SR-72 is expected to reach a Mach 6 (4,600 mph) top speed.

The inspiration for this hypersonic plane may come from the past, but it is poised to take military aircraft well into the future.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-john-galeon-9b086925/>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/domgaleon>)