YF-12A Archives

Aerospace & Defense

The Air Force Almost Had a SR-71 Blackbird-Style Warplane That Could Shoot Down Nuclear Bombers at Mach 3 and From 80,000 Feet

Kelly Johnson’s YF-12A took the A-12 Oxcart airframe, added a second crewman, the Hughes AN/ASG-18 pulse-Doppler radar and bays for AIM-47A Falcon missiles, and...

Brandon WeichertOctober 19, 2026

NASA SR-71 Blackbird Creative Commons NASA Photo

Aerospace & Defense

A Lockheed Mach 3.2 YF-12 Spy Plane Locked Onto a Target Drone From More Than 100 Miles Away and 14.2 Miles Below It, Then Killed It With a Missile Fired From 53 Miles. That Was 1966, and Only 3 of These Aircraft Were Ever Built.

Lockheed stripped the cameras out of a Blackbird, put a Hughes AN/ASG-18 fire control radar in the nose and three AIM-47 Falcons in internal...

Brandon WeichertOctober 5, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Lockheed YF-12A Traveling at Mach 3.2 and 75,000 Feet Fired a Missile That Hit a Target 500 Feet Above the Ground

We Visited a YF-12A – Please See the Pictures We Took Below: A Lockheed YF-12A Mach 3 interceptor traveling at Mach 3.2 and 75,000...

Jack BuckbyMay 15, 2026

The YF-12 was developed in the 1960s as a high-altitude, Mach 3 interceptor to defend against supersonic bombers. Based on the A-12 reconnaissance aircraft, the YF-12A became the forerunner of the highly-sophisticated SR-71 strategic reconnaissance aircraft.

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Before the SR-71 Blackbird There Was the YF-12 — A Mach 3 Interceptor Armed With Missiles That Could Kill From 100 Miles Away

The Lockheed YF-12 Hit Mach 3 and 80,257 Feet in 1965 — Then the Tet Offensive Ended Its Air Force Career In the 1960s,...

Brent M. EastwoodApril 3, 2026

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "YF-12A"

Aerospace & Defense

The Air Force Almost Had a SR-71 Blackbird-Style Warplane That Could Shoot Down Nuclear Bombers at Mach 3 and From 80,000 Feet

Aerospace & Defense

A Lockheed Mach 3.2 YF-12 Spy Plane Locked Onto a Target Drone From More Than 100 Miles Away and 14.2 Miles Below It, Then Killed It With a Missile Fired From 53 Miles. That Was 1966, and Only 3 of These Aircraft Were Ever Built.

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Lockheed YF-12A Traveling at Mach 3.2 and 75,000 Feet Fired a Missile That Hit a Target 500 Feet Above the Ground

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Before the SR-71 Blackbird There Was the YF-12 — A Mach 3 Interceptor Armed With Missiles That Could Kill From 100 Miles Away

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