AGM-28 (United States)

A 13-meter-long air-to-ground missile… somehow that just doesn’t feel right.

Isn’t it more accurate to call it a small unmanned bomber (kamikaze-style) rather than a missile?

They built as many as 722 of them, yet it was never used in actual combat and was retired.

Oh, and of course—it was nuclear.☢️

@sisahuheiki via X

Friday F4

@CcibChris via X

B-2 Batwing

@refueled via X

25 May 1944. Joseph Bennett’s P-51B engaged Hubert Heckmann’s Me Bf109G-6/AS in combat. Both pilots survived, Bennett became as POW. Art by Roy Grinnell.

@ron_eisele via X

When Lockheed Skunk Works was producing the A-12 on the factory floor, they adjusted the one-seat A-12 and added a backseat for the drone operator in the early 1960s.

This is the M 21 (M is Mother, D is Daughter number 12 backwards). D 21 is placed on top. The combination is called the MD 21. This derivative of the A-12 was made to launch drones over China to search for its nuclear weapons that communist China denied.

We had to know whether the Chinese could attack the United States. Only two M-21s were made; the only one remaining is in Seattle, Washington, at the Museum of Flight.

Daniel Hansen took this photo. I love the light on the back of the engine. As Daniel said, it looks a little like the red glow of the afterburner 🔥 that used to exist.

Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

#OTD in 1991, Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as Saddam Hussein failed to meet the UN deadline for withdrawing Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The coalition launched a massive air campaign, prompting Hussein to declare that “the mother of all battles has begun.”

@NavalInstitute via X

The little Dents on the SR-71 Nose that prevented SAMs from Scoring any Hit on the Blackbird

The little Dents on the SR-71 Nose that prevented SAMs from Scoring any Hit on the Blackbird

In this article:

Conceived to operate at extreme velocities, altitudes and temperatures

SA- 5 Missile Signal

The SR-71, unofficially known as the “Blackbird,” is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft. The first flight of an SR-71 took place on Dec. 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in January 1966. The U.S. Air Force retired its fleet of SR-71s on Jan. 26, 1990.

The SR-71 was conceived to operate at extreme velocities, altitudes and temperatures: actually, it was the first aircraft constructed with titanium, as the friction caused by air molecules passing over its surface at Mach 2.6 would melt a conventional aluminum frame.

Its engineering was so cutting edge that even the tools to build the SR-71 needed to be designed from scratch.

SA- 5 Missile Signal

My Dad and former SR-71 RSO Richard “Butch” Sheffield (Butch was his nickname because of his haircut that he had back in the 60s) he used to point to the nose of the SR-71 Blackbird when we would meet him at the Udvar Air and Space Smithsonian Museum in Virginia. He would point to the dimples and say “This is really important but I can’t talk about it.”

He would smile.

Cool Video Explains how SR-71 Blackbird’s J58 Turbo-Ramjet Engine Works

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. SR-71A Blackbird 61-7972 “Skunkworks”

I could just tell he wanted to tell me but he didn’t.

My father and Bob Spencer flew in one of the most important missions in the SR-71 when they got the SA- 5 Missile Signal flying within inches of the Russian border. Getting that signal was very important for the defense of the SR-71.

No one ever shot down an SR-71 they never even got close. Speed and defense made it impossible.

According to former Blackbird pilot Col. Richard H. Graham’s book SR-71 The Complete Illustrated History of THE BLACKBIRD The World’s Highest , Fastest Plane, the nose section allowed the SR-71 to have radar-imaging capability with the advanced synthetic aperture radar system (ASARS), photographic imagery with the optical bar camera (OBC), or a ballast installed. The nose section was held on by faun-massive fasteners.

However, my doubt remained unanswered.

The Dents that prevented SAMs from Scoring any Hit on the SR-71

What are those two little dents on the nose of the SR-71 Blackbird?

SR-71 Nose Section

‘I’m assuming you’re talking about the two “dents” in the chines at the front part of the nose, one on each side? Those aren’t dents, those were put there on purpose for the more advanced ECM systems the Blackbird got in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s,’ says Kelly Pedron, an aviation expert, on Quora.

‘There weren’t any good places to put the ECM receivers in the front of the aircraft, so those “dents” were put in the chine to allow the installation of ECM receivers there. If you’ll notice, the flat part of the “dent” is facing about 60 degrees forward, in order to cover that quadrant of the airspace around the aircraft. Earlier models of the SR, including the A-12, were more concerned with attack radar signals from the rear, so front-mounted ECM receivers weren’t as necessary at the time. With the advent of more advanced Soviet SAM systems, like the S-200 and S-300, a forward warning receiver and jammer were required, hence the development of the so-called ECM “dents” in the nose.’

Pedron concludes;

‘So, yes, those were put there on purpose; nobody accidentally taxied an SR-71 into a solid object.’

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller (Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Twitter Page Habubrats SR-71 and Facebook Page Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

@Habubrats71 via X

USS Ranger first carrier to deploy with F-14 Tomcat with key role in various ops throughout its career, including the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm.

@CcibChris via X

Late Entry for Phantom Phriday!

@CcibChris via X

🇺🇸 A pair of U.S. Air Force F-16CMs conduct a mission over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Dec. 29, 2025. Each is armed with two AIM-120D AMRAAMs, two AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Tactical Missiles, a pair of GBU-54(V)1/B series LJDAMs and seven AGR-20 series APKWSs.

(📸/Airman 1st Class Travis Knauss)

@Guy_plopski via X