The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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Secret i<JOFOHl'iJ
Chapter 6
278
to achieve the desired target altitude of 91,000 feet. Afterward. he
noted in the project log: ··we have no performance margins left; so
this project. instead of being 10 times as hard as anything we have
done, is 12 times as hard. This matches the design number and is ob­
viously right." ,,,
These changes satisfied Bissell, who notified Johnson on 26
January that the CIA was authorizing the construction of 12 of the
new aircraft. The actual contract was signed on 11 February l 960.
Lockheed's original quotation for the project was $96.6 million for l2
aircraft, but technological difficulties eventually made this price im­
possible to meet. Recognizing that fabricating an aircraft from tita­
nium might involve unforeseen difficulties, the CIA included a clause
in the contract that allowed costs to be reevaluated. During the next
five years. this clause had to be invoked on a number of occasions as
the A-12's costs soared to more than double the original estimate."'
NEW TECHNOLOGIES NECESSITATED
BY OXCART'S HIGH SPEED
According to the specifications. the OXCART aircraft was to achieve
a speed of Mach 3.2 (2.064 knots or 0.57 miles per second. which
would make it as fast as a rifle bullet). have a range of 4.120 nautical
miles. and reach altitudes of 84.500 to 97,600 feet. The new aircraft
would thus be more than five times as fast as the U-2 and would go
almost 3 miles higher.
One major disadvantage of the OXCART's great speed was high
temperatures. Flying through the earth's atmosphere at Mach 3.2
heated portions of the aircraft's skin to almost 900°F. An aircraft op­
erating at these high speeds and high temperatures required fuels. lu­
bricants, and hydraulic fluids that had not yet been invented. The
OXCART's fuel requirement called for a low-vapor-pressure fuel
with a low volume at operating temperatures; the fuel would also be
used as a heat sink to cool various parts of the aircraft. The 158 en­
gines required lubricants that did not break down at the very high op­
erating temperatures of Mach 3.2 speeds. This requirement led to the
,., Johnson... Archangc I log," 2 I January I 960.
'" OSA Hiswry. chap. 20. pp. 27-29. 33-34, 36 (TS Colkword).
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