Exclusive: A-12 Forerunner of the SR-71 and its time at Groom Lake

Uniform History's video all about the pressure suits used in the A12:
https://youtu.be/tnGmoQcg8cQ

The Lockheed A12 was the forerunner of the SR71and was a Mach 3+ high altitude reconnaissance aircraft built by the infamous Skunk Works for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Based on the designs of Kelly Johnson, the A12 flew from 1963 to 1968 and was the first in a family of super spy planes. Despite its short service life the A12 introduced revolutionary concepts in both aviation and manufacturing and still holds the world record for the fastest and highest air breathing aircraft ever to fly: Mach 3.29 at 90,000 feet. Today we will take a look at the development and operational history of this legendary aircraft. Additionally the pressure suits worn by the pilots will be covered in a separate video which can be found over at Uniform History.

Uniform History's video all about the pressure suits used in the A12:
https://youtu.be/tnGmoQcg8cQ

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https://bvr.design/​

Specifications:
Length: 101 FT 7 IN (30.96 M)
Height: 18 FT 6 IN (5.64 M)

Wingspan: 55 FT 7 IN (16.94 M)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 117,000 LB (53,070 KG)
Engines: EACH Pratt & Whitney J58 produces 20,500 LBF (91 kN) DRY or 32,500 LBF (145 kN) w/AFTERBURNER
Range: 2,500 NM (2,900 MI / 4,600 KM)
Supersonic Cruise: Mach 3.1
Maximum Speed: ESTIMATED MACH 3.3+
SERVICE CEILING OVER 85,000 FEET

Credits/Attributions:
"The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement."

Skunk works, A12 program, U2 and SR71 property of Lockheed:
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/

AG330 Start Cart Photo:
Jaydec at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Buick Wildcat Photo:
IFCAR, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

USS Pueblo Position Map:
Enemenemu, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

USS Pueblo as a museum photo:
Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Over Time by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

This video is an opinion editorial commentary.
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use purposes such as criticism, commentary, parody, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

All works used in this video (Images, audio etc) belong to their respective authors
(This does not include the audio commentary or licensed BGM).
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Видео Exclusive: A-12 Forerunner of the SR-71 and its time at Groom Lake канала PilotPhotog