Beirut at Mach 3: The SR-71, a Mirage, and a Bird Flip

On a 1982 Beirut reconnaissance mission, an SR-71 crew planned a Mach-3+ flight from England, threading a route to Beirut while avoiding a Syrian SA-5 threat near Damascus. A French Mirage III shadowed them and demanded clearance; the backseater flashed the bird, and the pilot hit afterburners to outrun the Mirage, completing the Beirut pass and returning to England.