29 Secret Photos from Area 51’s A-12 Oxcart RCS Tests

Daniel Bonfiglio Published 10/17/2024 in wow

Everybody knows about the SR-71 Blackbird. It's quite possibly the most iconic plane ever made; flying so high and fast over Soviet Russia that neither missiles nor Russian jets could chase it down.

But its predecessor, the smaller CIA-designed A-12, actually flew even higher and faster, just at astronomically hight operating costs.

It makes sense that the United States wanted to keep its U-2 spy-plane replacement under wraps, and top-secret Radar Cross Section tests were performed at Area 51 around 1960.

The United States didn't declassify photos of the tests until a few years ago.

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1.
Rear view of the A-12 RCS model on the ground before being raised to the test stand.
2.
The A12 had to be taken down when Russian satellites passed overhead.
3.
The fairings that simulate the cesium masking agent coming from the exhaust area are visible.
4.
The A-12 test model mounted on the shrouded stand to reduce radar signature from the stand itself.
5.
This was another test to simulate afterburner exhaust plumes that presented a substantial radar return from the A-12’s aft quadrant.
6.
View from above the A-12 RCS model on its test stand.
7.
Nose section of the A-12 mock-up on test stand.
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1.
Rear view of the A-12 RCS model on the ground before being raised to the test stand.
2.
The A12 had to be taken down when Russian satellites passed overhead.
3.
The fairings that simulate the cesium masking agent coming from the exhaust area are visible.
4.
The A-12 test model mounted on the shrouded stand to reduce radar signature from the stand itself.
5.
This was another test to simulate afterburner exhaust plumes that presented a substantial radar return from the A-12’s aft quadrant.
6.
View from above the A-12 RCS model on its test stand.
7.
Nose section of the A-12 mock-up on test stand.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
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