Collection Bernard Crochet/Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
- The Lockheed A-12, colloquially known as the Archangel-12 or A-12, was the first American supersonic spy plane.
- However, its service duration was short-lived due to its successor's rapid development.
- The plane's architecture influenced the design of future spy planes, such as the SR-71, and was even the namesake for Elon Musk's son.
Although short-lived, the A-12 was a trend-setter among U.S spy planes, setting records and leaving a prodigious legacy.
Collection Bernard Crochet/Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Under the umbrella of the OXCART Project in the 1950s and 60s, the CIA commissioned the creation of the A-12 aircraft as an upgrade over the U-2 spy plane. Lockheed Corporation secured the contract, and a well-renowned aerospace engineer, Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, started working on the project in 1959.
The A-12 was the culmination of the twelfth modification under the codename Archangel. According to the CIA website, it had the most advanced technological operating systems which include titanium construction, specialty lubricants, jet propulsion, high-performance fuel, state-of-the-art navigation, an advanced flight control system, highly efficient electronic countermeasures, stealth radar mechanisms, and comprehensive pilot life-support elements.
TIFO
The aircraft's developmental processes happened at the heavily guarded Area 51 in Nevada, away from prying eyes, including Soviet spy satellites. To conceal the prototypes, workers received a comprehensive list of these satellites, their schedules, and the types of technology each satellite employed.
TD Barnes, an Area 51 veteran and a former hypersonic flight specialist, compared having this information to a bus schedule in a 2011 conversation with National Geographic.
In preparation for potential satellite flyovers, the developmental staff would conduct radar-detection testing outside using tall poles before quickly hiding the prototypes in specially designed storage sheds.
Despite all precautions, the A-12's test flights were not devoid of mishaps. In one instance, the aircraft crashed in the desert near Area 51. While the government moved swiftly to bury the incident, declassified images later revealed the aircraft debris being cleared away by the clean-up crews.
CIA
Despite the A-12's groundbreaking design, its cockpit was quite cramped, necessitating that pilots be no more than six feet tall and weigh less than 175 pounds to properly fit. A single pilot could undertake a typical A-12 flight.
Eligibility requirements to fly the A-12 were stringent: candidates had to have logged at least 2,000 hours of pilot time, half of which needed to be clocked in state-of-the-art fighter planes. They also needed to be aged between 25 to 40, married, and emotionally stable.
As per these exacting standards, only 16 aspirants were shortlisted to proceed to an extensive security and medical vetting process, which was later reduced to just five. However, a secondary review process resulted in the selection of an additional six pilots.
