SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird is a top quality Air vehicle used for surveillance and is also a top speed jet at high altitude!  The SR-71 Blackbird is an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. During a mission if a surface-to-air missile was fired the Blackbird would just fly faster and out fly the missile. The SR-71 served with the U.S Air Force from 1964 to 1998. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents, but none lost to enemy action. The SR-71 has been given several nicknames, including Blackbird and Habu. Since 1976, it has held the world record for the fastest air-breathing manned vehicles, a record previously held by the YF-12.Lockheed's previous reconnaissance aircraft was the relatively slow U-2, designed for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The 1960 downing of Francis Gary Powers's U-2 underscored the aircraft's vulnerability and the need for faster reconnaissance aircraft. The CIA turned again to Kelly Johnson and Lockheed's Skunk Works, who developed the A-12 and would go on to build upon its design concepts for the SR-71.Drawing on the first studies in radar stealth technology, which indicated that a shape with flattened, tapering sides would reflect most radar energy away from the radar beams' place of origin, engineers added chines and canted the vertical control surfaces inward. Special radar-absorbing materials were incorporated into sawtooth-shaped sections of the aircraft's skin. Water vapor is condensed by the low-pressure vortices generated by the chines outboard of each engine inlet.

The first operational aircraft designed around a stealthy shape and materials, the SR-71 had several features designed to reduce its radar signature. The SR-71 had a radar cross section (RCS) of around 10 square meters. Cesium-based substances were added to the fuel to somewhat reduce the visibility of the exhaust plumes to radar, although the large and hot exhaust stream produced at speed remained quite apparent. For all this effort, Kelly Johnson later conceded that Soviet radar technology advanced faster than the stealth technology employed against it. The SR-71 carried electronic countermeasures, but its greatest protection was its high speed and cruising altitude that made it almost invulnerable to the weapons of its day. Merely accelerating would typically be enough to evade a surface-to-air missile, and the plane was faster than the Soviet Union's principal interceptor, the MiG-25. During its service life, no SR-71 was shot down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3tvBRs8_qU

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/100years/stories/blackbird.html

Book Report, Navy SEALs: By John Hamilton

Navy SEALs

By: Sean Marbell

Navy SEALs are special operations soldiers of the united states navy, and currently there are about two-thousand members of the Navy SEALs. This special group takes there name from the elements in which they work with Sea, Air, and Land. Performing the most dangerous missions in comparison to any other special operations unit out there. Large forces of troops cannot go undetected as long as a SEAL team can in fact no where near as long really.Using stealth and guerilla warfare SEALs are both hard to detect and extremely dangerous. No matter the weather, terrain, or time of day SEALs work in small groups quickly and effectively. SEALs originate From commandos during World War Two, these commandos or "frogmen" were expert swimmers that formed underwater demolitions teams, clearing beaches of obstacle for amphibious vehicles to make a landing. Frogmen fought against Germany during the D-day invasion of Normandy, and in France, and in many islands in the Pacific ocean during the fight against Japan.

SEALs have many hi-tech equipment such as night vision goggles. SEALs usually operate at night which is why such equipment is needed for a lot of missions. Another piece of equipment is a video camera that transmits everything a SEAL sees and hears back to the base were they left from. Also they tend to use flash bangs as well, a type of grenade that is extremely bright and loud disorienting all enemies in range. An SDV is a vehicle that takes the SEALs from the submarine from which it was launched into deep enemy territory, carrying all there equipment and enough oxygen to get then by these tend to be very effective. When not in the Sea they can drop from a 50 to 90 foot rope to the ground or parachute in small groups down to land. The SEALs killed Osama Bin laden...... That's pretty epic... Like..... Wow.