The US Air Force Wanted 93 Mach 3 YF-12 Interceptors and Built 3. The Program Died in 1968, and Its Radar and Missile Went On to Arm the US Navy’s F-14 Tomcat for the Next 40 Years.

The US Air Force Wanted 93 Mach 3 YF-12 Interceptors and Built 3. The Program Died in 1968, and Its Radar and Missile Went On to Arm the US Navy’s F-14 Tomcat for the Next 40 Years.

Kelly Johnson's idea was to turn the CIA's A-12 into a missile truck that could sit above 80,000 feet at three times the speed of sound and kill Soviet bombers before they reached the continent. Three AIM-47s rode internally so the airframe kept its shape at Mach 3. The Hughes AN/ASG-18 could see targets far below it. Then the Soviets went to ICBMs, Vietnam ate the budget, and an interceptor built to stop bombers stopped making sense.