Project Oxcart
| A-12 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A-12 aircraft, serial number 06932 | |
| Role | High-altitude reconnaissance aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Corporation |
| First flight | 26 April 1962 |
| Introduction | 1967 |
| Retired | 1968 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | Central Intelligence Agency |
| Number built | A-12: 13; M-21: 2 |
| Variants | Lockheed YF-12 |
| Developed into | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird |
The Lockheed A-12 was a reconnaissance aircraft built for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by Lockheed's Skunk Works, based on the designs of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. The aircraft was designated A-12, the 12th in a series of internal design efforts for "Archangel", the aircraft's internal code name. It competed in the CIA's "Oxcart" program against the Convair Kingfish proposal in 1959, and won for a variety of reasons.
CIA's representatives initially favored Convair's design for its smaller radar cross-section, but the A-12's specifications were slightly better and its projected cost was much less. The companies' respective track records proved decisive. Convair's work on the B-58 had been plagued with delays and cost overruns, whereas Lockheed had produced the U-2 on time and under budget. In addition, it had experience running a “black” project.
The A-12 was produced from 1962 to 1964, and operated from 1963 to 1968. It was the precursor to the twin-seat U.S. Air Force YF-12 prototype interceptor, M-21 drone launcher, and the SR-71 Blackbird, a slightly longer variation able to carry a heavier fuel and camera load. The A-12's final mission was flown in May 1968, and the program and aircraft retired in June. The program was officially revealed in the mid-1990s.
A CIA officer later wrote, "OXCART was selected from a random list of codenames to designate this R&D and all later work on the A-12. The aircraft itself came to be called that as well." The crews named the A-12 the Cygnus, suggested by pilot Jack Weeks to follow the Lockheed practice of naming aircraft after celestial bodies.
With the failure of the CIA's Project Rainbow to reduce the radar cross-section (RCS) of the U-2, preliminary work began inside Lockheed in late 1957 to develop a follow-on aircraft to overfly the Soviet Union. Under Project Gusto the designs were nicknamed "Archangel", after the U-2 program, which had been known as "Angel". As the aircraft designs evolved and configuration changes occurred, the internal Lockheed designation changed from Archangel-1 to Archangel-2, and so on. These names for the evolving designs soon simply became known as "A-1", "A-2", etc. The CIA program to develop the follow-on aircraft to the U-2 was code-named Oxcart.
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