Blazing Beyond Mach 2: Inside the World’s Fastest Fighter Jets and the Hypersonic Race
SR-71 Blackbird set the official world speed record for air-breathing crewed aircraft at 2,193 mph (Mach 3.3) in 1976. In 1965, a Lockheed YF-12A interceptor achieved 2,070 mph (Mach 3.17), a world speed record for its time. In 1958, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter set a world speed record above Mach 2, proving fighters could double the speed of sound. The MiG-25 Foxbat achieved Mach 3.2 in a 1973 high-altitude dash, but operational limits were held at about Mach 2.8 to protect the engines. The MiG-31 Foxhound can reach about Mach 2.83 top speed at altitude and is described as the