Posted on 09/13/2014 8:32:17 PM PDT by DemforBush
Goblin escort fighter
Moonman has it right, IIRC. The D-21 was originally intended to be carryed on the back of the SR-71, but in a test they nearly lost the Blackbird mothership. The USAF went for the B-52 as the carrier/launcher instead. When all this was going on the biggest unknown was Red China’s nuclear testing and ballistic missile range at Lop Nor, deep in western China.
The Taiwanese were running U-2 overflights (and lost several), so the D-21 was chosen to fill the gap.
Supposedly, the Chinese sent the US a panel from a D-21 that departed from it’s original flight plan and was lost.
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