Credit: NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Restrictions: Editorial use only

Caption: YF-12A aircraft. View of the US Air Force's YF-12A aircraft in flight and landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA. The YF-12 was the world's fastest jet-powered aircraft, cruising at speeds in excess of 2000 miles per hour (3200 kilometres per hour) and at altitudes over 70,000 feet (21,000 metres). It was an experimental fighter-interceptor version of the Lockheed A-12 aircraft. In Air Force flight tests on May 1, 1965, the YF-12 set a speed record of 2,070 miles per hour and an altitude record of 24,462 metres. First publicly displayed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1964, the YF-12 was never adopted by the military as an operational aircraft. It was, however, a precursor to the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane, which surpassed it in speed and altitude.

Release details: Model release not required. Property release not available.

Keywords: 1970s, 20 seconds or greater, 20th century, a-12, aeroplane, airborne, aircraft, airplane, altitude, american, aviation, blackbird, edwards air force base, engineering, equipment, fastest jet, flying, high altitude, historic, history, horizon, in flight, jet, landing, lockheed, military, nasa, no one, no-one, nobody, plane, reconnaissance, record, sky, speed, spy, spyplane, stealth, supersonic, technological, technology, touch down, touch-down, touchdown, transport, transportation, us, usa, yf 12, yf 12a, yf-12, yf-12 aircraft, yf-12a