XB-70 was an aircraft conceived in the 1950s in the USA, as a high-altitude, nuclear strike bomber.
Then, it could fly at Mach 3 speed which means that no enemy could defend against it.
The next decade, faster missiles were developed by other countries meaning that the survivability of such bomber was threatened. These missiles were less costly and could be nuclear-armed. That forced this expensive program to be cancelled.
Still, USAF bought 2 models of this type to test aerodynamics of large supersonic aircrafts.
They flied to generate valuable data.
Finally in 1969, it ended in a museum.
- Engines: 6 General Electric YJ93
- Maximum speed: 3.1 Mach at 73.000 feet of altitude
- Range: 4.300 miles
- Length: 56 m
- Height: 9.1 m
- Weight (loaded): 243 tons
[Source: www.nationalmuseum.af.mil]
