Lockheed A-12 OXCART Supersonic Reconnaissance Aircraft Family
The Lockheed A-12 OXCART was a single-seat, titanium reconnaissance-aircraft family developed by Lockheed Skunk Works for the Central Intelligence Agency. Its sustained Mach 3-class performance, extreme operating altitude, and low-observable shaping made it a defining Cold War technology demonstrator and the direct developmental predecessor of the YF-12 and SR-71 lines.
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Identity
- Aliases
- A-12 OXCARTLockheed A-12ArchangelOXCART
- Family Name
- Lockheed A-12 OXCART
- Full Name
- Lockheed A-12 OXCART Supersonic Reconnaissance Aircraft Family
- Roles
- militaryreconnaissanceexperimentaltechnology_demonstrator
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Crew Capacity
- 1
- Max Speed Kph
- 3,950
- Operating Modes
- land
- Service Ceiling M
- 27,432
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Lockheed A-12 OXCART was a single-seat, titanium reconnaissance-aircraft family developed by Lockheed Skunk Works for the Central Intelligence Agency. Its sustained Mach 3-class performance, extreme operating altitude, and low-observable shaping made it a defining Cold War technology demonstrator and the direct developmental predecessor of the YF-12 and SR-71 lines.
- First Flight Year
- 1,962
- Manufacturer
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 2
- Placement
- nacelle
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- airframe
- Variant Notes
- Pratt & Whitney, USAF museum, and Smithsonian sources identify two J58/JT11D-20 turbojets in the A-12's twin engine nacelles for the operational OXCART configuration.
- Name
- A-12 OXCART operational twin J58 installation
- Notes
- Applies only to the operational A-12 OXCART twin-J58 branch. CIA records separately document older J-75 fits on the first three aircraft during early testing; those temporary test installations and neighboring Blackbird-family variants remain separate.
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- Creation Time
- August 5, 2026 at 02:10:54 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 15, 2026 at 11:11:19 UTC