Comments on: The Avro Arrow https://habitablezone.com/2017/04/03/the-avro-arrow/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 03:45:24 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: hank https://habitablezone.com/2017/04/03/the-avro-arrow/#comment-38763 hank Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:07:07 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=63121#comment-38763 ...one of our extreme high-altitude, high speed, Blackbird-type programs was discontinued because of inter-service rivalry. It's very existence threatened another agency's own recon budget, and part of the political deal struck was that not only the aircraft be grounded and dismantled, but that the tooling developed to fabricate it be destroyed so it could never be resurrected again. I don't recall which aircraft it was, but I remember reading about it in one of Bamford's books on the history of US espionage. (Ain't it funny how you can remember 30 year-old trivia like this when you can't remember where you left your keys or your glasses?) I believe it happened during the Carter administration, and the agencies involved were the Air Force and the CIA. I can see a program being canceled because something better comes along, or because it's too costly for the projected benefits, but the complete demolition of all that effort and expense just to protect someone's appropriation is intolerable. …one of our extreme high-altitude, high speed, Blackbird-type programs was discontinued because of inter-service rivalry. It’s very existence threatened another agency’s own recon budget, and part of the political deal struck was that not only the aircraft be grounded and dismantled, but that the tooling developed to fabricate it be destroyed so it could never be resurrected again. I don’t recall which aircraft it was, but I remember reading about it in one of Bamford’s books on the history of US espionage. (Ain’t it funny how you can remember 30 year-old trivia like this when you can’t remember where you left your keys or your glasses?)

I believe it happened during the Carter administration, and the agencies involved were the Air Force and the CIA. I can see a program being canceled because something better comes along, or because it’s too costly for the projected benefits, but the complete demolition of all that effort and expense just to protect someone’s appropriation is intolerable.

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