How exactly did the United States acquire titanium from the Soviet Union for the SR-71 Blackbird?

How exactly did the United States acquire titanium from the Soviet Union for the SR-71 Blackbird? The United States acquired titanium from the Soviet Union for the construction of the SR-71 Blackbird through a complex network of covert operations and intermediary companies. During the Cold War, the U.S. faced a significant challenge in sourcing titanium, a metal essential for the SR-71’s construction due to its strength and heat resistance properties. At that time, the Soviet Union was the world’s largest producer of titanium.

To secure the necessary material without alerting the Soviets about the end-use, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) set up front companies and used third-party countries to purchase titanium from the Soviet Union. These intermediaries masked the true buyer and purpose of the metal. This secretive approach allowed the U.S. to acquire sufficient quantities of titanium for building the SR-71 fleet without directly revealing the project to their adversary.

The irony is that the titanium used in constructing the world’s fastest spy plane, which flew missions over the Soviet Union, was procured from the Soviets themselves. This covert procurement was part of the broader CIA program known for its ingenuity in bypassing geopolitical barriers during the Cold War.