ARCHANGEL: CIA’s SUPERSONIC A-12 RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT

This history of the A-12 reconnaissance aircraft was occasioned by CIA’s acquisition
on loan from the Air Force of the eighth A-12 in the production series of 15 in
September 2007. Known as Article 128, the aircraft is on display at the Agency’s
Headquarters compound in Langley, Virginia. This history is intended to provide an
accessible overview of the A‑12’s development and use as an intelligence collector.
Writing this story was a fascinating challenge because I am not an aviation historian
and have never flown any kind of aircraft. Accordingly, I have tried to make the
narrative informative to lay readers like myself, while retaining enough technical detail
to satisfy those more knowledgeable about aeronautics and engineering. I have drawn
on the sources listed in the bibliography and the extensive files on the A-12 program
in CIA Archives. Hundreds of those documents were declassified and released to the
public in conjunction with the dedication of Article 128 in September 2007 as part of
the Agency’s 60th anniversary commemoration. I have limited citations to specific
documentary references and direct quotes from published works. When discrepancies
arose among the sources regarding dates and other details, I have relied on the
official records.
For their contributions to the substance and production of this work and to the
documentary release, I would like to thank my colleagues on the CIA History Staff
and at the Center for the Study of Intelligence, the information review officers in the
Directorate of Science and Technology, designers and cartographers in the Directorate
of Intelligence, and publication personnel at Imaging and Publishing Support. I also
am grateful for historical material provided by the Lockheed Martin Corporation and
the A-12 program veterans, the Roadrunners.