US: LBJ announces A-11 to mask A-12 sightings
President Lyndon B. Johnson revealed a secret high-speed aircraft named A-11, actually the YF-12 interceptor derived from the classified A-12, to explain away potential sightings of the latter from Area 51.
Background
Event Details
On February 29, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson conducted a press conference announcing that the United States had surpassed Soviet airspeed records multiple times using a covert plane dubbed the A-11. This was a deliberate pseudonym for the Air Force YF-12, a two-seat adaptation of the Lockheed A-12 designed for interception duties. Johnson stated it achieved speeds exceeding 2,000 mph at altitudes around 70,000 feet.
Technical Background
The YF-12 stemmed from the CIA's still-classified A-12 reconnaissance platform, with prototypes ordered in 1960 by modifying existing designs. It featured Pratt & Whitney J58 engines, Mach 3+ capabilities, and a service ceiling near 90,000 feet. Equipped for three AIM-47 missiles, it served as precursor to the SR-71. First flight occurred August 1963.
Strategic Purpose and UFO Relevance
The announcement aimed to conceal the A-12 program; observations of CIA/Air Force A-12 operations from Area 51, Nevada, could be ascribed to the publicized YF-12A at Edwards Air Force Base, California. This military maneuver likely reduced misidentifications of these advanced aircraft as unidentified aerial phenomena during Cold War tensions.
Significance
By attributing high-speed, high-altitude flights to a known U.S. asset, the disclosure mitigated potential UFO reports linked to black projects, highlighting intelligence-driven disclosure tactics.
Connections
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