Makes you wonder what the US has tucked away in secret squirrel land doesn't it. The blackbird is often held as the flagship of speed and sneaky weasel. And it is what...40+ years old. Wouldn't it be fun to find out what is tucked away in hidden places.
Well...
The blackbird was just some clever engineering.
The plane leaked like a sieve on the ground and the tanks didn't seal until it got hot.
The populsion used a conventional engine core with adjustable entry and exit and bypassing control around the core to convert it to a ramjet at high speed.
The sad part is that nobody figured out how shoot down a blackbird.
With modern hypersonics coming online it is good it is retired.
The B52 first flew in 1952, so by comparison the blackbird isn't that old.