{"id":1465586,"date":"2026-06-03T14:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=1465586"},"modified":"2026-06-25T14:10:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T12:10:56","slug":"the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71&#8217;s Back"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n\nSomewhere over the Nevada desert in the spring of 1966, a shape detached itself from the back of what appeared to be an impossibly stretched SR-71 Blackbird. For a fraction of a second, the shape hung in the slipstream like a remora leaving a shark \u2014 and then the ramjet ignited. The D-21 drone, forty-three feet of titanium and composite wrapped around a Marquardt RJ43-MA-11 ramjet, punched through Mach 3 and climbed toward the stratosphere. Below it, the M-21 mothership banked away, its pilot Bill Park squinting into the sun. Nobody on the ground saw a thing. Nobody was supposed to.\n\nThis was Project Tagboard, one of the most classified programs in Cold War aviation history \u2014 and certainly the strangest. The CIA and Lockheed's Skunk Works had built a Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone designed to ride piggyback on a modified A-12 spy plane, launch at supersonic speed, fly a pre-programmed route over enemy territory, eject its camera film for mid-air retrieval, and then self-destruct. It was, by any measure, completely insane. And it very nearly worked.\n\n\n<div style=\"background:linear-gradient(135deg,#1a1a2e 0%,#16213e 100%);color:#fff;padding:28px 32px;border-radius:12px;margin:28px 0\">\n<h3 style=\"margin:0 0 16px;font-size:20px;letter-spacing:1px;color:#5C91FF;padding:0\">QUICK FACTS<\/h3>\n<table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px\">\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa;width:40%\">Designation<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">Lockheed D-21 (originally Q-12)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Program Name<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">Tagboard (later Senior Bowl)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Maximum Speed<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">Mach 3.3+ (2,200 mph \/ 3,600 km\/h)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Operational Altitude<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">90,000 feet (27,400 m)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Mothership (Phase 1)<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">M-21 (modified A-12 Blackbird)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Mothership (Phase 2)<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">B-52 Stratofortress<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Operational Missions<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">4 (over China, none fully successful)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;color:#aaa\">Program Cancelled<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px\">July 1971<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Kelly Johnson's Most Secret Creation<\/h2>\n\nDevelopment began in October 1962, when CIA director John McCone asked Kelly Johnson whether the Skunk Works could build an unmanned version of the A-12 Oxcart spy plane. The idea was born of necessity: after the Gary Powers U-2 shootdown in 1960, overflying the Soviet Union and China with manned aircraft had become politically untenable. But the need for photographic intelligence over Chinese nuclear test sites had never been more urgent.\n\nJohnson, who had designed the U-2 and the A-12, accepted the challenge. His team produced the Q-12 \u2014 later renamed D-21 (\"D\" for daughter) \u2014 while the A-12 launch platform became the M-21 (\"M\" for mother). The drone would ride atop the M-21, launch at Mach 3.2 and 80,000 feet, fly its reconnaissance route, and then eject a hatch containing the camera and exposed film. A JC-130 aircraft would snag the film package in mid-air using a trapeze system. After film ejection, the D-21 would self-destruct.\n\nIn his memoir, Skunk Works director Ben Rich recalled that Kelly Johnson was so shaken by the loss of Ray Torick that he immediately cancelled the M-21 launch programme, unwilling to risk another life launching a drone from the back of a Blackbird.\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vwv6BiaUtDU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Senior Bowl: The B-52 Era<\/h2>\n\nJohnson refused to give up on the concept, but he was done risking two-man crews. The D-21 was redesigned as the D-21B, fitted with a solid-rocket booster for launch from under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress. The new program was codenamed Senior Bowl.\n\nAfter a series of test flights, four operational missions were launched over China between November 1969 and March 1971. All four targeted the Lop Nur nuclear test site in western China. The results were uniformly disappointing: the first drone strayed off course and crashed in Soviet Siberia \u2014 handing Moscow an unexpected look at some of America\u2019s most advanced technology; the second flew its route but the film canister was lost at sea; the third\u2019s film sank during a botched sea recovery; and the fourth crashed in China\u2019s Yunnan province, where its wreckage is displayed to this day.\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=392578983  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/lockheed-d21-drone-museum-display.jpg\" alt=\"Lockheed D-21 drone on display at museum\" style=\"display:block;width:100%!important;max-width:100%!important;height:auto!important;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A surviving D-21 drone on display. Of the 38 built, only a handful survive in museums today. (U.S. Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/89WrApT5PDo\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Legacy of a Mach 3 Ghost<\/h2>\n\nThe D-21 program was cancelled on July 23, 1971. The remaining drones were put into storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, where they sat in the desert sun for decades, their existence still classified.\n\nThe Soviets, meanwhile, made good use of the D-21 that had crashed in Siberia. They reverse-engineered elements of its design for the Tupolev Voron reconnaissance drone program. The Chinese, too, recovered D-21 wreckage from a crash in Yunnan province and studied it closely \u2014 the remains are now displayed at the China Aviation Museum in Beijing.\n\nThe D-21 was decades ahead of its time. In an era when \"drone\" meant a radio-controlled target, Lockheed had built an autonomous, Mach 3+ reconnaissance platform that could operate at 90,000 feet. Today's high-altitude, long-endurance drones owe a quiet debt to Kelly Johnson's most secret creation.\n\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px;margin-top:32px\">Sources: Lockheed Martin, National Museum of the USAF, Ben Rich \"Skunk Works,\" The Aviation Geek Club, CIA FOIA archives<\/p>\n\n<!-- mf-faq -->\n\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}<\/style><h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What was the Lockheed D-21?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The Lockheed D-21 was a Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone built by Lockheed's Skunk Works for the CIA. Forty-three feet long and powered by a Marquardt ramjet, it was designed to launch at supersonic speed, overfly enemy territory on a preprogrammed route, eject its camera film for mid-air retrieval, then self-destruct.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>How was the Lockheed D-21 launched?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Initially it rode piggyback atop an M-21, a modified A-12 Blackbird, launching at around Mach 3.2 and 80,000 feet. After a fatal accident, it was redesigned as the D-21B with a solid-rocket booster to launch from under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>How fast and high could the Lockheed D-21 fly?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The D-21 could reach Mach 3.3+ (about 2,200 mph \/ 3,600 km\/h) and operate at altitudes around 90,000 feet, making it one of the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever built.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Why was the D-21 drone program created?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>After Gary Powers' U-2 was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, overflying hostile territory with manned aircraft became politically untenable. In 1962 CIA director John McCone asked Kelly Johnson whether Skunk Works could build an unmanned version of the A-12 to photograph Chinese nuclear test sites.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What did the 'M' and 'D' mean in M-21 and D-21?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The drone was designated D-21, with 'D' standing for 'daughter,' while its A-12-derived launch aircraft became the M-21, with 'M' for 'mother.' The drone rode atop the mothership before launch.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Why was the M-21 launch program cancelled?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>During a launch, test pilot Ray Torick was killed. Skunk Works director Kelly Johnson was so shaken by the loss that he immediately cancelled the M-21 launch program, unwilling to risk another life launching a drone from the back of a Blackbird.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Was the Lockheed D-21 successful?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Not really. After being redesigned for B-52 launch under the codename Senior Bowl, four operational missions were flown over China, but none was fully successful. The program was cancelled in July 1971.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the Lockheed D-21?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Lockheed D-21 was a Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone built by Lockheed's Skunk Works for the CIA. Forty-three feet long and powered by a Marquardt ramjet, it was designed to launch at supersonic speed, overfly enemy territory on a preprogrammed route, eject its camera film for mid-air retrieval, then self-destruct.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How was the Lockheed D-21 launched?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Initially it rode piggyback atop an M-21, a modified A-12 Blackbird, launching at around Mach 3.2 and 80,000 feet. After a fatal accident, it was redesigned as the D-21B with a solid-rocket booster to launch from under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How fast and high could the Lockheed D-21 fly?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The D-21 could reach Mach 3.3+ (about 2,200 mph \/ 3,600 km\/h) and operate at altitudes around 90,000 feet, making it one of the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever built.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was the D-21 drone program created?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"After Gary Powers' U-2 was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, overflying hostile territory with manned aircraft became politically untenable. In 1962 CIA director John McCone asked Kelly Johnson whether Skunk Works could build an unmanned version of the A-12 to photograph Chinese nuclear test sites.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What did the 'M' and 'D' mean in M-21 and D-21?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The drone was designated D-21, with 'D' standing for 'daughter,' while its A-12-derived launch aircraft became the M-21, with 'M' for 'mother.' The drone rode atop the mothership before launch.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was the M-21 launch program cancelled?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"During a launch, test pilot Ray Torick was killed. Skunk Works director Kelly Johnson was so shaken by the loss that he immediately cancelled the M-21 launch program, unwilling to risk another life launching a drone from the back of a Blackbird.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Was the Lockheed D-21 successful?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Not really. After being redesigned for B-52 launch under the codename Senior Bowl, four operational missions were flown over China, but none was fully successful. The program was cancelled in July 1971.\"}}]}<\/script><!-- \/mf-faq -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Somewhere over the Nevada desert in the spring of 1966, a shape detached itself from the back of what appeared to be an impossibly stretched SR-71 Blackbird. For a fraction of a second, the shape hung in the slipstream like a remora leaving a shark \u2014 and then the ramjet ignited. The D-21 drone, forty-three [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":1465199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1465586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71&#039;s Back | MiGFlug.com Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the 1960s, the CIA and Lockheed Skunk Works built the D-21 \u2014 a Mach 3+ drone launched from the back of a modified SR-71. A fatal accident, four failed China missions, and Cold War secrets.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71&#039;s Back | MiGFlug.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the 1960s, the CIA and Lockheed Skunk Works built the D-21 \u2014 a Mach 3+ drone launched from the back of a modified SR-71. A fatal accident, four failed China missions, and Cold War secrets.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MiGFlug.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T12:45:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-25T12:10:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"916\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71&#8217;s Back\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T12:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-25T12:10:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1076,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71's Back | MiGFlug.com Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T12:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-25T12:10:56+00:00\",\"description\":\"In the 1960s, the CIA and Lockheed Skunk Works built the D-21 \u2014 a Mach 3+ drone launched from the back of a modified SR-71. A fatal accident, four failed China missions, and Cold War secrets.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":916},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71&#8217;s Back\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug.com Blog\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\",\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Kerr\"},\"description\":\"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/author\\\/connorkerr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71's Back | MiGFlug.com Blog","description":"In the 1960s, the CIA and Lockheed Skunk Works built the D-21 \u2014 a Mach 3+ drone launched from the back of a modified SR-71. A fatal accident, four failed China missions, and Cold War secrets.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71's Back | MiGFlug.com Blog","og_description":"In the 1960s, the CIA and Lockheed Skunk Works built the D-21 \u2014 a Mach 3+ drone launched from the back of a modified SR-71. A fatal accident, four failed China missions, and Cold War secrets.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/","og_site_name":"MiGFlug.com Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T12:45:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-25T12:10:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":916,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Kerr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Kerr","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Kerr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9"},"headline":"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71&#8217;s Back","datePublished":"2026-06-03T12:45:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-25T12:10:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/"},"wordCount":1076,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/","name":"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71's Back | MiGFlug.com Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-03T12:45:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-25T12:10:56+00:00","description":"In the 1960s, the CIA and Lockheed Skunk Works built the D-21 \u2014 a Mach 3+ drone launched from the back of a modified SR-71. A fatal accident, four failed China missions, and Cold War secrets.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/lockheed-m21-d21-drone-in-flight.jpg","width":1200,"height":916},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-lockheed-d-21-the-mach-3-drone-launched-from-an-sr-71s-back\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Lockheed D-21: The Mach 3 Drone Launched From an SR-71&#8217;s Back"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","name":"MiGFlug.com Blog","description":"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9","name":"Connor Kerr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Kerr"},"description":"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/author\/connorkerr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1465586"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2683821,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465586\/revisions\/2683821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1465199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1465586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1465586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1465586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}