An air-to-air left front view of an A-12 aircraft. Credits: U.S.Air Force – Defense Visual Information Center Lockheed’s A-12 Oxcart was the spy plane which the company developed for the Central Intelligence Agency The predecessor to the U.S. Air Force’s iconic SR-71 Blackbird – was extremely high- and fast-flying, but also incorporated …
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On Jul. 4, 2019, Robert J. “Bob” Gilliland, former Lockheed test pilot and the first man to fly the iconic SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, died at the age of 93 at Rancho Mirage, California retirement facility where he had been living for several years. The death was announced by his …
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In March 1960, even before delivery of the first A-12 prototype, Lockheed and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) discussed the development of an interceptor version of the A-12. Lockheed started development of the Lockheed YF-12 interceptor, as a lower-cost replacement for the F-108 Designed as the AF-12 under project Kedlock, the …
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