The Mach 2 Beast No One Was Ready For

An aggressor squadron screams across the Baltic sky, closing in on the Swedish Saab 35 Draken at Mach 1.7. By all conventional wisdom, the brand new Swedish fighter should have been trapped—outgunned, outmaneuvered, and seconds away from being another Cold War casualty. But this is no ordinary aircraft. Suddenly, the Draken's nose pitches up violently, almost perpendicular to its flight path. The fighter seems to hang suspended in midair as its forward momentum evaporates, defying the laws of physics. It was a move that was supposed to be impossible. Any pursuing jet would become a target as the Draken ripped backwards on their tail. The Swedes called it kort parad—"short parry." It would later become known worldwide as the mythical Cobra Maneuver, and for now in 1963, it exists nowhere else on Earth. To pull it off required one of the riskiest and most dangerous designs ever implemented in an aircraft. The Saab 35 Draken would either kill or be killed by the “SUPER STALL. --- Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between. As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.