Message posted by Peter Merlin (Member since 11/13/2003) on December 31, 2023 at 8:19:58 PST:
The 17 surviving D-21B drones were initially stored at Norton Air Force Base, California, after the TAGBOARD program was canceled in 1971 and then moved to the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base “boneyard” near Tucson, Arizona, in 1976 and 1977. With the base open to the public, the D-21 drones were quickly spotted and photographed, with pictures appearing in aviation magazines. A few years later, the A-12s that had been stored at Site 2, AF Plant 42, in Palmdale were moved outdoors where they were soon spotted. This raised questions as to where all these "SR-71s" had come from and the A-12 OXCART made its public debut with a handful of declassified photos. Both the A-12 and D-21 had been declassified in 1976 when it was decided to move them to outdoor storage, but no public announcement was made at the time. Instead, the CIA and USAF put together a "Response To Queries" statement that could be used to field any questions from the public or press.
In Reply to: Re: experimental planes posted by Blade75769 on December 30, 2023 at 19:15:02 PST:
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