i can remember watching these take off/land at Kadena air base in Okinawa while i was stationed in Camp Hansen (USMC). We assume they were flying recon mission

i can remember watching these take off/land at Kadena air base in Okinawa while i was stationed in Camp Hansen (USMC). We assume they were flying recon missions over North Korea. They would take off then quickly bank almost 180 degrees we referred to them as "Habu" because that's how the locals called them, which is the name of the large black (and extremely poisonous) snake indigenous to the island. i recall reading that the SR-71 was originally designed as a strategic interceptor, rather than a long-range recon bird.