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SR-71
Regarding the SR-71 decommisioning: official line is that satelite recon is cheaper and better, rendering the SR-71 obsolete. However, it is not so obsolete that the government doesn't maintain 2 fully functional aircraft. One in, "storage", maintained by Air Force Strategic Air Command, and one maintained by NASA for, "Testing" purposes. Also, all of the birds on display, such as the one on the Intrepid museum in NY harbor can be brought on-line in a matter of days.
Upon the decommisioning of the SR-71 there was an interview with some of the pilots. One of the questions was, "What will you do when your records for speed / altitude / distance get passed by future aircraft?"
One of the pilots responded nonchallantly, "We'll take her out of mothballs, fuel her up, and put the throttles forward one more notch." Clearly a classic response for a classic bird.
It would seem that any listing of the Max speed for the SR-71 was an educated guess. They never had the throttles maxed out and have no true idea of just how fast it will go.
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