PALMDALE, Calif., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- After a five-year pause in service, the Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird -- the world's fastest and highest flying jet -- returned to the U.S. Air Force's inventory here today.

In a ceremony at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility, company officials turned over to the Air Force the first of two SR-71s that have been undergoing refurbishment. A second Blackbird is in the reconditioning process and is scheduled to be returned to the Air Force in August.

Dennis E. Thompson, Skunk Works vice president for business management, presented the first aircraft's ownership papers to Air Force Brig. Gen. Bill Rutledge, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, Calif. The wing operated SR-71s when they were originally in service between 1966 and 1990.

Thompson said the refurbishment work began earlier this year under a $30 million Air Force contract covering two aircraft. "We are proud to be back in the SR-71 business, and are pleased to report that we are currently running ahead of schedule and significantly under budget," Thompson said.

A third SR-71 -- like the others in storage for the past five years -- has been inspected by the company and will be refurbished if the Air Force elects to fund that work.

Thompson read a letter from Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Israel, director of the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office. "The hard work and dedication exhibited by the entire SR-71 team are a tribute to the enduring legacy of the Skunk Works," Israel wrote. "You get it right the first time."

The Blackbird reconnaissance jets were originally designed and built at the Skunk Works in the 1960s when Cold War tensions were at their peak. They flew missions over trouble spots throughout the world for 24 years, gathering vital information to be used by U.S. decision- makers.

In 1990, budgetary pressures led to retirement of the Air Force's SR-71 fleet. Many of the Blackbirds were given to museums and a small number were put in storage for possible future use. Three were loaned to NASA for scientific research flights.

In late 1994, Congress allocated funds to have two or more SR-71s taken from storage and reconditioned for the same type of reconnaissance missions flown in previous years.

Three two-person Air Force crews that previously flew SR-71s are now being retrained to operate the Blackbirds. Beginning later this summer, the aircraft and crews will be based at Edwards AFB. The aircraft delivered in today's ceremony is scheduled to make its first flight with a retrained Air Force crew Friday.

CO: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works
ST: California
IN: ARO
SU: