The reason why the u.s legendary state
route 71 blackbird disappear after the
cold war. The state route 71 blackbird remains one
of the most legendary aircraft of all
time. Over the span of its five-decade service
it ran thousands of missions over
sensitive areas, outrunning thousands of
missiles launched it at the majority of
those from the soviet union and setting
the record for the fastest plane ever to
fly.
What eventually came to kill the SR-71
though was not a better plane but a
combination of technological advances, budget cuts and a reorientation of u.s
strategy away from supersonic spy
missions. The principal factor however was cost.
In
spite of the plane's unparalleled
service record it was simply too
expensive for the u.s air force to
continue to run after the end of the
cold war. Air force officials were frank about
this fact in 1989 hearings as reported
by the los angeles times.
Air force chief of staff Gen Larry D welch identified in congressional
testimony, the increased survivability of
reconnaissance satellites state route 71
vulnerability to the soviet SAM-5 (Surface-to-Air Missile) and the cost of
maintaining the state route 71 fleet. The cost factor is the most significant
to the air force because it limits
expenditures in other areas. Reagan administration air force
secretary Edward C Aldridge Jr estimated that the money
used to operate the state route 71 fleet
could operate and maintain two tactical
fighter wings.
A second factor that welch cited
concerning advances in then-soviet
ground-to-air missile technology, most
prominently moscow's new S-300 missile
defense system known by NATO as the Saat-10 grumble. New aircraft
including the MiG-31 foxhound also
played a role in the air force's
decision to quit while they were ahead.
Even as soviet and subsequently russian
missile technology improved, other u.s
technologies improved alongside it, mainly spy satellites which could take
pictures of sensitive areas without any
danger from anti-air missiles and when
such missions were still needed. The
emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). These drones including the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 and the northrep grumman RQ_180
played important roles in the war on
terror in afghanistan, as well as duties
in south korea and elsewhere.
Military drones were never an exact
successor to the state route 71 and the
precise role it played in the air
force's operations, though Narrowed by
spy satellites remains unfilled. A successor aircraft the state route 72
darkstar might be able to plug the gap
but it remains unclear when if ever it
will first take off. In spite of the plane's unparalleled
service record it was simply too
expensive for the u.s air force to
continue to run after the end of the
cold war.
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