SA-2S rocket-like Mach 5 plane could have been the SR-71 Blackbird replacement

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SA-2S was a rocket-like Mach 5 Aircraft studied by Convair in the early ’60s as a possible SR-71 Blackbird replacement

The Convair Kingfish reconnaissance aircraft design was the ultimate result of a series of proposals designed at Convair.

Kingfish also competed with the Lockheed A-12 for the Project Oxcart mission and lost to that design in 1959.

The above image, published by Code One on its Facebook page.

According to Code One, the rocket-like aircraft was designed to be 87.5 feet long and 16.7 feet tall.

The wingspan was 35.0 feet and the wings swept for high-speed flight: conversely, the wingspan was 60.3 feet with the wings extended for low-speed flight.

The aircraft had a takeoff weight of 92,000 pounds, a cruise speed of Mach 5 and 95,000 feet of the ceiling; fuel weight was 37,600 pounds.

Several turbojets and booster rockets, some under development, were studied as alternative power plants to improve performance.

Unfortunately, along with several other supersonic and hypersonic designs, SA-2S remained on the drawing board since the success of the Lockheed A-12 and SR-71 programs made alternatives unnecessary.

Another design was the G2A a subsonic design with a low radar cross-section, and the A-2 a delta wing design using ramjets powered by zip fuel.