www.thearmorylife.com/north-american-xb-70-valkyrie/ The article "North American XB-70 Valkyrie — America’s Cold War Supersonic Speed Bomber" by Friedrich Seiltgen examines the history and development of the XB-70 Valkyrie, a planned supersonic bomber intended to replace the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and the Corvair B-58 Hustler. Designed to fly faster and higher than its predecessors to evade interceptors, the Valkyrie faced challenges due to advances in Soviet surface-to-air missile technology, which necessitated a shift in U.S. bomber tactics. Despite impressive design specifications, including a cruising speed of Mach 3 and an over-target altitude of 70,000+ feet, the project was ultimately doomed by high costs and the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). After the program was canceled in 1961, two prototypes were used for research. A major setback occurred in 1966 when one prototype was destroyed in a mid-air collision, resulting in several deaths. The remaining Valkyrie contributed valuable data to future aerospace projects and now resides at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
