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Titanium Materials

Lockheed SR-71 on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the Lockheed SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The SR-71 airframe is constructed largely of titanium and its alloys, and the vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite material to reduce radar cross-section.

Categories: Structures & Materials
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