Midweek Sortie 02: XB-70 Valkyrie— The Cold War Marvel

The Valkyrie streaked into the sky as a promise of tomorrow’s airpower, only to become a legend of what might have been when the world changed course mid-flight.

“My conclusion is that this is a very impressive air vehicle- It could be enhanced with the addition of some production improvements such as an automatic flight control system, better instrument presentations, more complete navigational equipment, more exotic stability augmentation, and so forth…”

—Al White, Chief Test Pilot, North American Aviation

Ready Room

Valued reader, picture a cold morning high over the Nevada desert—one of those days when the air is so clear it almost rings, and the horizon feels carved from glass. Far above that silent landscape, a shape emerges that doesn’t seem entirely real. At first it looks like a glint, then a delta, then a white arrow slicing the stratosphere with impossible confidence. And when it finally roars overhead, the sound doesn’t just arrive—it descends—like distant thunder trying to catch a machine already too fast for it.

That was the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, an aircraft so ambitious it bordered on science fiction. Built to outrun interceptors, missiles, and even the limits of imagination, the Valkyrie promised Mach 3 speed, sky-high altitude, and a future in which strategic bombers would simply fly faster than danger itself. It was bold. It was breathtaking. And it was a glimpse into a world that never fully arrived.

For our second Midweek Sortie, we’re visiting the legend of the XB-70—its daring design, its turbulent political battles, and the extraordinary promise and tragedy that defined its brief time in the sky. This is the story of an aircraft that seemed less built and more summoned.

Strap in. Issue 02 is coming in hot.