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The Fascinating Story of CIA’s A-12 OXCART
The world’s most advanced aircraft ran only 29 missions
In 1959, CORONA — the CIA and U.S. Air Force’s secret satellite program to provide imagery and mapping of the Soviet Union — was still new. At that time, the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was America’s principal means of determining what kinds of strategic weapons the USSR had and how many of them. The U-2 could fly at an eye-popping 70,000 feet — which was beyond the range of Soviet fighters and missiles — to take detailed photos of Soviet Block military facilities. But the Soviets were tracking the U-2’s from the beginning. (The U-2 made its first flight in 1955) It soon became clear that another solution would be needed.[i]
That need for an alternative to the U-2 was highlighted when, in May 1960, the Soviet Union shot down a U-2, and publicly tried its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.[ii]
Under the auspices of the highly secret Project OXCART, CIA developed the A-12 to succeed U-2. The A-12 would be a high-flying reconnaissance aircraft that, unlike the U-2, could avoid Soviet air defenses. CIA awarded the OXCART contract for the creation of the A-12 to Lockheed Martin in 1959, and the aircraft achieved full operational readiness in November 1965. During testing, the A-12 reached a speed of Mach 3.29 (over 2,200 mph) and an altitude…
