HEIGHT 611 CRASH WAS A SOVIET SHOOTDOWN OF AN SR-71 BLACKBIRD

The January 1986 Height 611 UFO story lines up with Ben Rich's account of receiving a piece of stealth skirting from a crash site in Siberia in February of 1986 (Rich & Janos, 270). Rich claims that it was part of a D-21 drone from a 1969 mission over China. The drone went off course and landed in Siberia. The timing suggests otherwise. The historical record shows that the American Ruling Class never stopped their overflight of the Soviet Union as was claimed after the 1960 shoot down of Gary Powers. In fact in the 16 May 1960 issue of Aviation Week, it was boldly declared that overflights of the Soviet Union would continue. It is also notable that the elements not known to be part of the Blackbird's make up found at Height 611 are known to be used in molten salt reactors. Reagan's State of the Union Address was an oblique declaration after the shoot-down to continue American overflight of the USSR. 

TIMELINE 
09 March 1964
A-11 BLACKBIRD is reportedly flying over "Red Area." 
1978
The Soviet Union deploys the S-300 missile system, designed to shootdown the SR-71. 
1982
DARPA begins research on the successor to the SR-71. The program conducted under the codename Copper Canyon taking place roughly 20 years after the first A-12 Blackbird flight. 
1984
The Soviets deploy the 9M82 variant of the S-300 capable of 5400 mph or Mach 8.19.
29 January 1986 
HEIGHT 611 UFO CRASH in Siberia. 
04 February 1986
President Reagan mentions the National Aerospace Plane, a cover for the development of the SR-71's successor codenamed AURORA in the State of the Union Address. 
?? February 1986 
A CIA agent hands Ben Rich of Lockheed a stealth panel, received as a Christmas gift from a KGB “friend." It came from a crashed skunk works plane in Siberia. Rich claims it was from the first D-21, Tagboard mission that was lost over China and landing in Siberia. in November of 1969. Rich goes on to tease saying, the panel looked like "it had been made yesterday" and that the Soviets mistook the panel for our current stealth technology. The rare earth metals found at the HEIGHT 611 site are found in molten salt reactors and used in stealth planes. 
(Rich & Janos 270)
26 April 1986
Chernobyl Terrorist Attack occurs. Chernobyl provided power to the Russian Woodpecker, the Soviet Union's over the horizon radar and direct energy weapon. The Woodpecker was the system that tracked the Blackbird. 

Early 1987

First sightings of AURORA 
09 April 1989
Air Force retires the SR-71 claiming among other things that Blackbird was vulnerable to the Soviet Sam-5 missile. 

21 April 1989 
SR-71A (61-7974 / 2025) is "lost" over the South China Sea and is the last loss of any Blackbird. Pilot Maj. Daniel E. House said the left engine blew up and shrapnel from it hit the right-side hydraulic lines, causing a loss of flight controls. House and RSO Capt. Blair L. Bozek ejected and came down safely in the ocean. They had been able to broadcast their position before abandoning the Blackbird, and rescue forces were immediately on the way. However, the crew was rescued by native fisherman. 
https://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/losses.php
May 1989 
First interviews with Bob Lazar are aired on KLAS-TV.

10 August 1989

An unsubstantiated UFO case comes to us from Russia. According to the reports, not far from the city of Prohlandnyi at 1:00 AM, on August 10, 1989, Soviet military radar units picked up an unidentified flying object. An attempt was made to contact the craft, without success. The UFO was classified as "hostile." Russian defenses were put on alert, and Mig-25s were put in the air to find and identify the UFO. Soviet military radar units picked up an unidentified flying object. 

http://ufos.about.com/od/ufofolkloremythlegend/p/russia1989.htm

BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES 
Hiatt, F. (1986). Space Plane Soars on Reagan's Support. The Washington Post. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/02/06/space-plane-soars-on-reagans-support/bb97b23a-d94b-4490-8a6e-8739b0ccbe8d/?utm_term=.293e368fb627 [Accessed 18 Jun. 2018].
Los Angeles Times (1964). NEW SPY FLIGHTS?: A-11 Reported Over Red Area Magazine Statement ... p.1.
RAND (1993). The National Aerospace Plane (NASP): Developmental Issues for the Follow-on Vehicle. [online] Santa Monica, CA: RAND, pp.https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2007/R3878.1.pdf. Available at: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2007/R3878.1.pdf [Accessed 18 Jun. 2018].
Rich, B. and Janos, L. (1996). Skunk Works. Boston: Back Bay Books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_611_UFO_incident
Richelson, J. (1989). Air Force Tries to Shoot Down Its Own Spy. The Los Angeles Times. [online] Available at: http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-09/opinion/op-1582_1_air-force-chief-blackbird-spy-plane [Accessed 18 Jun. 2018].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-300_missile_system

Out of the known 50 air frames 20 were lost. In other words 40% of all Blackbirds were "lost." Supposedly none were shot down. Kind of hard to believe given the 40% loss rate.