The Reconnaissance Systems Officer in the back seat operated the radar and assisted with navigation. ![]() It mounted a side-looking airborne radar that mapped the ground below it, and also used two cameras that took images to either side, though at lower-resolution than the A-12’s larger camera. The SR-71 was actually slightly less stealthy and high-flying than the A-12, but had different intelligence-gathering technology. This led to the two-seat SR-71A-the “SR” standing for Strategic Reconnaissance. ![]() ![]() The Air Force wanted a longer-range version of the A-12 with better sensors that didn’t need to fly directly over hostile territory, particularly as an agreement reached with the Soviet Union that banned territorial overflight. The A-12 mounted a single high-resolution camera that recorded a broad swath of terrain directly underneath the aircraft. However, none of these spinoffs entered service, and the A-12 was retired in favor of an Air Force operated variant, the SR-71. There was even a bizarre M-21 drone carrier that launched a D-21 spy drone off its back. The Air Force developed prototypes of an interceptor version, the YF-12, and later considered a high speed bomber, the B-71 (coming numerically after the XB-70 Valkyrie bomber that never entered production).
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