2,000 MPH JET--A SECRET SINCE 1959

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67B00446R000500090021-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 7, 2004
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: March 1, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2M 102/ f4,1? IA-RDP67B00446R000500090021-5
NEW YORT
TERALD T.RT7,UNT
SHORTLY AFTER DAWN, the B-29 bomber took off from an air .lase :'.
den by California desert. Beneath it was slrung the X-1, a needle-nosed craft :at
resembled the big."block-buster bombs of World War II. It was Oct. 17,1 %'=I7,
and that day Air Force Capt.' Chuch Yeager became the first human to hurl n;?r
airplane through the then-mysterious soriiid barrier. Since then, supersonic
f lip ht has become routine. But only research craft such as the rocket-; owc,-ed
X-15 have been able to exceed Mach 2.2 for more than of e7v seconds. Mach 2.2
is the "aluminum barrier," the.poitt at which aluminum beg ins to welt. NOU.,,
for the first time, a jet-powered, production f igliter may be able to speed tlirou h
it at will.
WASHINGTON.
By Laurence Barrett
of The Herald Tribune Staff.
President Johnson announced yesterday that the
United States has developed an interceptor-type jet war-
plane whose "performance far exceeds that of any other
aircraft in the world today." He ident4flcd it as the A-11.
The dramatic revelation of one of the best-held mili-
tary secrets in recent years set off considerable speculation
and confusion. The Air Force, as recently as a month ago,
pleaded with Congress for funds to develop an "improved
manned interceptor." The attributes of the plane sought
started in 1959-the year before the V-2 flown by Francis
Gary Powers crashed in Russia. This suggested to some a
possible reason for keeping the A-11 project secret for so
long, and for seeking other uses for the plane.
Government sources acknowledged that the A-11 b-id
reconnaissance capabilities.
The President said he was making the ?.nrounce.;ne t
t .c
yesterday ",to.permit the orderly exnloitation of
vanced technology in our military and comme'e;a: p- non The use of titanium in the A-11 may air" ijp t.:' c3- "+.
of a supersonic transport. The metal, which
:problems for aircraft engineers, is necess:_.. ;?
traveling' at excessive speeds.
President Johnson said "several" A-11 c; ?ft now
were being flight-tested at Edwards Air " ' irce Base,
Calif., ~"to determine their capabilities as long-range inter-
'. ceptors," Further details of design and performance were
\' not disclosed for security reasons, yet photographs were
released. They showed the plane{ to be extremely long
and thin in its forward portion. Short wings are near the
tail assembly.
The Federal Aviation Agency and those private com-
panies in competition to build a supersonic transport
have been kept informed of progress on the A-11, govern-
went sources reported.
However, they -emphasized that the A-11 cannot be
transformed into a bomber or commercial transport. The
latter still require separate, major development programs.
On the other hand, experience Lockheed is gaining
with the A-11 may give the company an important leg
up in the current competition to design and build a Mach
c, supersonic trainsport, More than a billion dollars are to
be spent in this effort to perfect a plane that can carry
passengers between New York and London in about two
hours.
by the Air Force were similar to the ones mentioned by
Mr. Johnson yesterday-high speed-long range and great
altitude capability.
The House voted authorization-$40 million-=for the
interceptor, but the Senate voted nothing.' Mr. Johnson A
said the Air Force had been working on the project since
1959. Some members of Congress were, kept informed of
the work. '
'
Inevitably, the question arose yesterday as to why the
Air Force made a public and private fight for something
it already had, in the works. Also curious was the fact
that Congress, should haggle over something already well
along.
Among the possible explanations are these:
`q:The A-11 might have been developed as a follow-on
for the U-2 spy plane, but now Defense Secretary Robert S.
McNamara wants to use it--or a varfation of it-as a
fighter. For some technological reason, perhaps, the Air
Force is not persuaded this is wise.
QJThe entire controversy over the improved manned
interceptor could have been a ruse to hide from the Rus-
sians the extent of American progress warplane design.
([The Administration might wish to deflect criticism-
particularly from Sen. Barry Goldwater-that it is failing
to keep up with military requirements for m6dern aircraft,
No one in Washington would discuss these matters yes-
terday. Even the designation of A-11 caused some uncer-
tainty. In military usage, the letter "A" as a rule indentifiea
Navy attar kfighters. Yet this was an Air Force project.
Lockheed built both the U-2 and the A-11 at Burbank,
Calif. There was speculation that Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
of Lockheed, who supervised design of the U-2 also headed
development of the A-11. The U-2 can' achieve great
altitude-reportedly better th,1n 90,000 feet, but is relatively
l
J
M
h
n
s
ow.
r.
o
nso
said ,the A-J I as been tested in sus-
tained flight at more than 2000 miles an hour and at
a.i;itudes in excess of 70,000 feet." This would make the
A-11 at least four times faster than the U-2 and at least
500 miles an hour faster than any American fi;,hter now
in the air. -
Observers could remember no other m , inr
development in recent years that, was kept c-.J.' it arc .et
besides the U-2 itself.
It was considered significant that xnrk nt: th.a A-11
Approved For Release 2004/02/04: CIA-RDP67B00446R000500090021-5