Convair Kingfish - Aftermath

Aftermath

Some small-scale work on the "Kingfish" continued even after the choice of the A-12, in case the A-12 ran into problems. This did not occur, and the "Kingfish" funds soon disappeared.

The CIA continued studies into even higher performance aircraft, and studied replacing the A-12 under Project Isinglass. Isinglass focused on a new design blending features of the General Dynamics F-111 and "Kingfish." The new design aimed to produce a new reconnaissance aircraft capable of reaching up to Mach 5 at an altitude of 100,000 ft (30,000 m). The CIA felt that the extra performance would not be enough to protect it from missile systems already capable of attacking the A-12, and nothing came of the project.

Ironically, the entire idea of spoofing radars through their blip/scan turned out to not work. Among other effects, it was discovered that the engine ejectors produced significant reflections. Lockheed proposed adding cesium to the jet fuel to create a cloud of ions that would help mask this effect. Additionally, since the entire idea relied on problems in the radar display systems, upgrades to these systems could render the entire concept moot. In the end, the A-12 was considered too vulnerable and was only flown over secondary nations like Vietnam. The failure of the A-12's attempts to avoid radar was proven when the Vietnamese proved able to track the A-12 with some ease, even firing on it on several occasions and causing minor damage on one occasion in 1967.