The First Attack on the SR-71 Blackbird

The First Ever Attack

On July 26, 1968, an SR-71 was flying over Northern Vietnam when the reconnaissance systems officer (RSO) noticed an “R” light pop up on his panel. This light meant that the Northern Vietnamese surface-to-air missile site was looking for the Blackbird under its radar. However, the RSO wasn’t worried as this was a frequent occurrence. Afterward, he noticed an “M” light illuminate, meaning the Vietnamese radar was tracking them. However, what happened next was arguably the longest minute of the crew’s life.

The Blackbird was traveling at 83,000 ft at Mach 3 over Hanoi when the RSO noticed an “L” light pop up on the Electronic Countermeasures panel. The “L” meant that one or two missiles had been fired at the plane and the atmosphere inside became critical once the pilot asked the RSO when the “L” light had been illuminated and whether it had been a minute. The time was vital because the SA-2’s surface-to-air missile was only 58 seconds.

Upon landing, it was later confirmed by the cameras that two missiles were fired. This was the first time that a missile had been launched toward a Blackbird. Over the years, approximately 4,000 missiles were fired at Blackbirds but none of them ever hit their target.