Strike of Habu by Rick Herter

This painting features the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird overflying the Russian Naval base at Petropavlovsk and ballistic missile sites on the Kamchatka peninsula. During the cold war the coast of Kamchatka was a frequent target for photographic and ELINT missions of the SR-71.

In the image you'll see the faint smoke trails of Russian SA-2 missiles as they climb into the sky attempting to catch the airplane. Over the career of SR-71 operations, over 1,000 missiles were fired at the airplane without success. The Russians even built a brand new MiG, the MiG-25 Foxbat in an attempt to counter the SR-71. No MiG was ever able to climb high enough or fast enough to catch the Habu. At max speed the Blackbird was faster, in feet per second, than a bullet fired from a 30 06 rifle and it flew at the edge of space.

Habu is a fast, venomous snake and was a nickname given to the airplane by residents on Okinawa where the aircraft was based (at Kadena AFB).