National Security Journal on MSN

At Mach 3, the XB-70 Valkyrie lost pieces bigger than the YF-12 — one test pilot’s bar comeback that became aviation legend

In the mid-1960s, Lockheed’s Mach 3 YF-12 and North American Aviation’s Mach 3 XB-70 Valkyrie were both flying test missions ...
National Security Journal on MSN

At Mach 3.1 and 70,000 feet, the XB-70 Valkyrie bomber could outrun every Russian interceptor — but the US cancelled it

In the late 1950s, the U.S. spent $800 million building a Mach 3.1 strategic bomber that could cruise above 70,000 feet and ...
CNET

Last Flight of the Valkyrie: A Closer Look at the Forgotten Mach 3 XB-70 Superbomber

At Mach 3, you travel about 3,000 feet per second. That's over half a mile (or 10 football fields). And at 70,000 feet, you're twice as high as the average airliner. Only a handful of aircraft have ...
The National Interest

The Mach-3 Bell X-2 Starburster Was One Dangerous Plane

Like its predecessor, the X-1, the X-2 was powered not by jet engines but by a rocket engine. This liquid-fueled motor had a massive 15,000-pound thrust output, well-suited to exploring flight at ...
The Aviationist

Celebrating 60 Years of the XB-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 Super Bomber

The experimental legacy of the iconic XB-70 Valkyrie, which made its first flight on Sept. 21, 1964. An article published on the U.S. Air Force website commemorates the 60th anniversary of the first ...
Aviation Week

Boeing Withdraws Near-Mach 3 Claim For F-15

A Boeing F-15 is still quite fast, but not nearly Mach 3, the company’s program manager said on Feb. 23, correcting a previous statement. “Mach 2.497 is what we can get out of the Eagle jet and that’s ...