Lockheed F-12B Escort Fighter for the B-70

[GTX]

* I'm still highly miffed that he stopped writing those.

I agree - Air International used to be so much better back then.

Regards,

Greg

[rallymodeller]

According to Jim Miller's Lockheed Skunk Works book, the YF-12 and SR-71 were developed right about the same time, and were already being developed by the time the A-12 was becoming operational. The YF-12 mainly started as a way to cover the R&D for the "RS-71" USAF follow-on to the A-12 but was so good that it was developed on its own. The timeframes bear this out. "Oxcart" (the A-12) was a CIA project from the get-go and the USAF wasn't involved apart from some facilities and so forth. The lack of experienced pilots was a real problem for the CIA at first. It was so bad that the CIA, needing to get the A-12 into service as quickly as possible during the Cuban Missile Crisis, had to use Lockheed test pilots (operation "Skylark").

In any event, the CIA was starting to get out of the spyplane game about the time the A-12 started operations. The USAF, however, could not just take possession of the A-12s that were built and that's why the YF-12/SR-71 program was started -- to get new, differently budgeted and improved aircraft to the USAF.

As to the D-21s, they were operationally used for a while back in the 60s but never off Blackbirds. They were initially designed to fly from the M-21 modification of the A-12 (but never successfully), and for the most part were launched from one of two specially-modified B-52H mother-ships. When Nixon ordered the halting of overflights of China (the main use for the D-21) the remaining drones were sent to AMARC and just kind of dropped there (they were still "black"). The D-21 program was acknowledged in 1977 when some spotters found the D-21s...

[rickshaw]

Is that the gun in the port forward bay? Presumably they'd have to lower it into the airstream to fire it? Sounds complicated....

If they don't, they'd have to fly rather a complex trajectory to get it lined up with the target...

Didn't an F-8 do that 'shooting itself down' trick once? I recall one fired some rounds in a descent, the rounds slowed down and the F-8 didn't, it caught them up and swallowed them, goodbye engine!

I'm aware of an F11 Tiger doing it.  Even the Boys and Girls' Own Book of World Knowledge mentions it:

The F-11 Tiger is noted for being the first jet aircraft to shoot itself down. On 21 September 1956, during a test firing of its 20 mm (.79 in) cannons, pilot Tom Attridge fired two bursts mid-way through a shallow dive. As the velocity and trajectory  of the cannon rounds decayed, they ultimately crossed paths with the Tiger as it continued its descent, disabling it and forcing Attridge to crash land the aircraft; he survived.

[Pablo1965]

Very, very interesting plane and your steps are carefully done. 

[Devilfish]

Back to the subject in hand.....

No guns, no ARMs.   This is a Mach 3 escort fighter. It will be armed with modified Phoenixes using the Falcon's motor for greater speed and folding fins to fit in the bays.

The idea being that they fly with the Valkyries and take out any threats before they become a threat.