The Lockheed YF-12 was an American prototype interceptor aircraft evaluated by the United States Air Force. The YF-12 was a twin-seat version of the secret single-seat Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft, which led to the U.S. Air Force's Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird twin-seat reconnaissance variant. The YF-12 set and held speed and altitude world records of over 2,000 mph and over 80,000 ft (later surpassed by the SR-71), and is the world's largest manned interceptor to date. The initial phase of the test program included objectives aimed at answering some questions about implementation of the B-1. Air Force objectives included exploration of its use in a tactical environment, and how airborne early warning and control (AWACS) would control supersonic aircraft. The Air Force portion was budgeted at US$4 million. The NASA tests would answer questions such as how engine inlet performance affected airframe and propulsion interaction, boundary layer noise, heat transfer under high Mach conditions, and altitude hold at supersonic speeds. The NASA budget for the 2.5-year program was US$14 million.
Of the three YF-12As, AF Ser. No. 60-6934 was damaged beyond repair by fire at Edwards AFB during a landing mishap on 14 August 1966; its rear half was salvaged and combined with the front half of a Lockheed static test airframe to create the only SR-71C.
YF-12A, AF Ser. No. 60-6936 was lost on 24 June 1971 due to an in-flight fire caused by a failed fuel line; both pilots ejected safely just north of Edwards AFB. YF-12A, AF Ser. No. 60-06935 is the only surviving YF-12A; it was recalled from storage in 1969 for a joint USAF/NASA investigation of supersonic cruise technology, and then flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohioon 17 November 1979.
A fourth YF-12 aircraft, the "YF-12C", was actually the second SR-71A (AF Ser. No. 61–7951). This SR-71A was re-designated as a YF-12C and given the fictitious Air Force Serial Number 60-6937 from an A-12 to maintain SR-71 secrecy. The aircraft was loaned to NASA for propulsion testing after the loss of YF-12A (AF Ser. No. 60–6936) in 1971. The YF-12C was operated by NASA until September 1978, when it was returned to the Air Force.
The YF-12 had a real-field sonic-boom overpressure value between 33.5 to 52.7 N/m2 (0.7 to 1.1 lb/ft2) – below 48 was considered "low".

Lockheed Martin’s “Skunk Works” advanced development division celebrated its 75th anniversary 6/14/2018 with a company party for employees. There are almost 4,000 of them in Palmdale, up from 2,700 not long ago. Business is booming. Skunk Works is doing about $1 billion a year in business, comparable to what it earned at the height of the F-117 project. It’s part of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, which is a $20 billion enterprise, in turn part of the $51 billion Lockheed Martin defense behemoth. Babione said it’s been getting tougher to get enough engineers to do all the work Skunk Works has won in the last few years, and because artificial intelligence and autonomy are big new aspects of defense programs, he’s competing with the likes of Apple, Amazon, and Google, as well as Boeing, Northrop Grumman (next door), and SpaceX for talent. The party was supposed to feature the unveiling of a classified project, but the government failed to give approval for the disclosure in time. Company officials said they would reveal the object in the near future. On display, however, was the “X-44,” a proof-of-concept autonomous stealth unmanned aerial vehicle, which Lockheed touted as having flown in the early 2000s, before Boeing’s X-45 or Northrop Grumman’s X-47. The small white flying wing made an unannounced static appearance at an airshow recently, and so was not making its public premiere. Previous to its appearance, the designation “X-44” was widely believed to have been a tailless F-22 project that was canceled..

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