CL-400 SUNTAN
The mystique of the Lockheed "Skunk Works" is based on a public perception of an unbroken string of successes, notably the U-2 and SR-71. What is much less well known is that these successes were punctuated by a singularly unsuccessful (and expensive) effort in the late 1950s. Following the completion of the U-2, Lockheed proposed to build a plane that would surpass the U-2 in high-altitude, long-range performance, while adding high speed to reduce vulnerability to enemy defenses. The focus of this effort was an aircraft known as the CL-400 Suntan.
