Combat Aircraft Journal looks back at a series of memorable missions for the SR-71 Blackbird during the Arab-Israeli war as they collected valuable intelligence during a series of high-risk flights.
The Six-Day War of 1967 took place between June 6-10, during which Israel quickly defeated Egyptian forces. America played a key role in having contributed much of the Israeli firepower, with no need to contribute its own personnel to the conflict. In 1973, several Arab nations including Egypt and Syria were again embattled with Israel forces in the Yom Kippur War (Arab-Israeli War) that ran between October 6-25. On the opening day of that conflict — Yom Kippur Day, the Jewish Day of Atonement — Egyptian forces launched an hour-long barrage with some 2,000 artillery pieces alongside the Egyptian Air Force (Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya Il Misriya), which put up 240 aircraft that hit three Israeli airfields.
