Why Sr-71 should return? First time it got shot by a russian missile made in 60's and Russia did made more powerful missiles and sold it to any anti american counties till the end of cold war. Nobody wants another Sr-71 down.

well besides the fact that the sr71 was never shot down you are correct. there is no real place for it. the aircraft is expensive to fly and maintain. satellites now give real time information and can disseminate it around the globe at high bandwidths. the u2--which was shot down in 1960 over the ussr--is still flying because it is cheap. it is also much more versitile in that it can be used for high altitude research as well.

the b29 and p38 are still flying but only at airshows. the xb70 and b58 are nothing more than museum pieces now. there may be an f100 or two still in airworthy condition but i don't know the last time they flew in public.

My point is that russian missles like s-200 v or other anti ballistic ,anti aircraft can take down high flying reconnaissance aircraft like sr-71. Sr-71 was made for spying soviets ,where ever they go, but it was retired in 1990, because it wasn't possible to spy on soviet territory.Came back few years later but was retired again in 1999.

In general it's to expansive.It would be more cheaper and easyer to make pics from satellite,with out taking risk of shooting down any spy aircraft or making another political scandal.

i think one of the worst blunders was choosing the super hornet over the super tomcat, the f-14 was faster more manuevrable and it had phoenix missiles and a further combat radius without refuelling

Yea,bad choice.

the focke- wulf fw190 should return. this plane was an even match for the mustang over germany and had a very distinguished record on the eastern front. it was so versitile. it was the f-18 of its day.

didn't they quit making the phoenix?

nope just stored it in inventory for a while the f-14b didnt get it but it was brought bak in time for the f-14d

TSR2 it was MORE advanced than the tornado and it origanated from a 1956 order (english eletric actually began work in the late 40s!!! Thinking that ot would be wanted) It was more advanced than f111 they were worried that if we exported it f111 sales would fall dramitically It got everything right and was better than the order specification. The first prototype flew over 20 flights but there were many prototypes after it.

The second prototype would never fly; the government, in the Budget Day announcement on the 6th of April 1965, announced that the TSR.2 programme was to be terminated immediately. The aircrew were at the time having lunch in a pub near Boscombe Down; on hearing the shocking announcement they rushed back to the airfield in an attempt to get XR220 into the air and to at least present the government with a second flying prototype. This was not to be; permission was denied. While the management of BAC were informed before the budget speech was made, they were forbidden to tell their employees, who then had to hear the news on the radio. The House of Commons was in uproar over the cancellation; but no debate could take place during the budget speech so not only had the government treated BAC's workforce with contempt, they had tried to slip a major defence project cancellation past the opposition. A debate one week later in the house was a rough ride for Denis Healey (the new Defence Minister), who tried to justify the cancellation on the basis that the F-111 could be bought more cheaply, though he could not state a cost or exact timescale for the buy. Healey has since stated that getting American backing for an International Monetary Fund loan was not a reason behind the British order for the F-111 instead of continuing the TSR.2 programme. However, the TSR.2 was certainly a serious worry to the Americans, being vastly more capable than the F-111 and could have made a serious dent in the F-111's export prospects. A denial from a politician, as the TSR.2 programme showed on numerous individual occasions, is not worth the paper they refuse to write it on.

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'The distant flash of lightning howling through the thunder' ex RAF ligthning pilot recalling lightning of 1973 through thunder