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From: justin@tasman.cc.utas.edu.au (Justin Ridge)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Has the SR-71 been used in the Persian Gulf?
Message-ID: <1991Jan25.034846.13359@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 25 Jan 91 03:48:46 GMT
References: <1991Jan23.043608.7473@cbnews.att.com>
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From: justin@tasman.cc.utas.edu.au (Justin Ridge)

kyp@stsci.EDU (Mark Kyprianou) writes:

>Has the SR-71 been used in the Persian Gulf?

>Does Iraq have any weapon/defense against them?

The SR-71 was retired about the middle of last year (March/April ??).
Therefore they have not been used in the Persian Gulf, unless the USAF has
secretly reactivated them, which would involve re-familiarising the crew,
setting up the PSD team etc. etc.
Besides, they'd operate from RAF Mildenhall in England, and nobody there has
seen them coming or going.
Blackbirds would be the ideal tool for reconaissance in the ME - they'd do well
at finding MOBILE SCUD LAUNCHERS!  Perhaps they are the weapon that the US will
most wish that they had.

Re: defence, the Iraqis would have no chance of shooting down the SR-71 unless
it flew abnormally slow or loitered in the threat area.  I'd say they could 
come & go as they pleased.
 
J.Ridge,
justin@tasman.cc.utas.edu.au