Documents / FOIA release
This is a CIA History Staff monograph by Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. Welzenbach, published in Washington in 1992 and approved for release in 2011. It covers the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program from 1954 to 1974, which developed and flew the U-2 and the A-12 OXCART. It traces the U-2's development, the overflights of the Soviet Union, the downing of Francis Gary Powers on 1 May 1960, and later operations. One section is titled U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK.
“Edwards Air Force Base”5 pages
Sere N Chapter 6 273 Lockheed A-12 Mach 3.2 4,120 nm 3,800 nm 84.500 ft. 91,000 ft. 97,600 ft. $96.6 million Convair KINGF1SH Mach 3.2 3,400 nm 3,400 nm 85,000 ft. 88,000 ft. 94,000 ft. - $121.6 million Speed Range (total) Range (at altitude) Cruising Altitude Start Midrange - -End Cost summary (for 12 aircraft without engines) 005653421 UNCLASSIFIED characteristics, although the Lockheed design's specifications were slightly better in each category. The Lockheed design was also prefer- able in terms of overall cost. In the vital area of vulnerability to radar detection, however, the Convair design was superior. Its smaller size and internally mounted engines gave it a smaller radar cross section than the Lockheed A-12." Comparison of Lockheed and Convair Designs Some of the CIA representatives initially favored the Convair KINGFISH design because of its smaller radar cross section, but they were eventually convinced to support the Lockheed design by the Air Force members of the panel, who believed that Convair's cost over- runs and production delays on the B-58 project might be repeated in this new project. In contrast, Lockheed had produced the U-2 under budget and on time. Another factor favoring the A-12 was security. Lockheed had experience in running a highly secure facility (the Skunk Works) in which all of the key employees were already cleared by the Agency. Despite its vote in favor of the Lockheed proposal, the selection panel remained concerned about the A-12's vulnerability to radar de- tection and therefore required Lockheed to prove its concept for reducing the A-12's radar cross section by 1 January 1960. On 14 September 1959, the CIA awarded a four-month contract to Lockheed " OSA History, chap. 20. pp. 18-19 (TS Codeword). Se UNCLASSIFIED
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 406 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.