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RoMiG21
@romig21

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SUPERLONG LABOR DAY WEEKEND – DRONES When originally conceived, the primary mission for Oxcart was to overfly the Soviet Union. After Francis Gary Powers and his U-2 were shot down on May 1, 1960, the rules changed. One of the many concessions made by President Eisenhower for the release of Powers was the immediate cessation of all manned overflights. The word “manned” was carefully stipulated because of the possibilities envisioned for future Corona (not Covid!) reconnaissance satellites. However, since the satellites were still several years away from operations, the CIA decided that a drone also fell outside the “manned” category. The drone had to be simple, relatively lightweight and able to fly Mach 3 at 90,000 feet, and it had to have a low radar cross section and be compatible with systems and techniques already developed for Oxcart. Because of the complexities of turbojet power and its associated intakes, the J58 was quickly discarded in favor of a Marquardt RJ43 ramjet borrowed from the IM-99 BOMARC missile. Since ramjet engines do not function at low speeds, a modified A-12 was selected as a platform that would carry the drone to Mach 3 and then release it. The CIA called the drone Tagboard, and it was originally known within Skunk Works as the Q-12. As work progressed, however, it was given the D-21 designation (D for daughter), while its two-seat Blackbird carrier aircraft was called the M-21 (M for mother). The two M-21s (SN 60-6940 and SN 60-6941) were purpose built, not modified, A-12s, although there were remarkably few differences. Unlike the original A-12s, the M-21 carried a back-seater known as the Launch Control Officer (LCO) who used a periscope to monitor the drone. Only 6 inches of clearance existed between the wingtips of the D-21 and the top of the M-21’s vertical stabilizers. The only surviving M-21 is preserved @MuseumofFlight Happy Labor Day! 📷: M-21 SN 60-6940 with D-21 drone and F-104 (60801) on ramp #SR71Blackbird #SR71 #A12 #LockheedMartin #SkunkWorks #AVporn #AVgeek #crew #cockpit #Spy #Tagboard #M21 #Spies #F104 #F104Starfighter #MuseumofFlight #DreamlandLasVegas #EdwardsAFb #Supersonic #HABU #HighAltitude #Mach3_plus