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The Lockheed TAGBOARD drone is a supersonic, high altitude,
photo-reconnaissance drone launched from a modified A-12 airplane.
Powered by a Marquardt ramjet, the drone cruises at Mach 3.3 and
over 85,000 feet for 3000 n.m. Photographic coverage 28 miles
wide for the entire drone range is obtained from the Hycon camera.
Still in the test and development phase, the drone is expected to be

operational in December 1966.

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Cc. Alirovaft Reconnsis.

The Lockheed U-2 is the srait designed and built solely zor

the purpose of reconnaissance, Powered by the J-75 engine, the air-

craft cruises at approximately 76, G00 feet for 3200 n,m, at a speed

410 knots, The aircraft is capable of covering worldwide reconnais-

fe}

Sance targets; iwo aircraft are modified jor aircraft carrier operations

QI

. The primary payload is the "B" camera

io increase mission flexibil
but SIGINT and IR camera payloads nave been developed io increase the

aircraft utilization againsi specific targets. The U-2 is used by both

CIA and SAC for reconnaissance operations.



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IV. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT . ’

This section describes the major research and development activi-
ties including study projects, being conducted by the National Reconnais-

sance Office.

HEXAGON - This name has been selected as the BYEMAN system
codeword for the new search and surveillance system.

The preparations for system development culminated in a proposed
management approach, a statement of the system operational require-
ments and a request for proposal for the sensor subsystem. These key
system documents and the supporting rationale were reviewed in detail
by the CIA, the NRO Directorate of Special Projects and members of
the Reconnaissance Panel of the President's Scientific Advisory
Committee. They were then submitted for approval to the Executive
Committee of the National Reconnaissance Program, which considered
the HEXAGON proposal on 26 April, and approved it as submitted.
Necessary implementing directives were issued by the Director, NRO
on 30 April 1966.

The system configuration is shown in Figure 1, Key system design

characteristics and capabilities include a ground resolution of 2.7 ft or

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however, in this instance, both capsules were returned (one with
9 revs of exposed film -- the other containing no usable film).

2, A camera malfunction occurred during the second phase of
Mission 1031, launched 8 April, and only monoscopic (instead of

stereo) photography was obtained for this portion of the mission.

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DORIAN - Contract definition phase (Phase I) effort for the Manned
Orbital Laboratory (MOL) continued with Douglas Aircraft for the Lab
Module, the General Electric Company for the Mission Module,
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation for the GEMINI B capsule, the Eastman
Kodak Company for the optical payload and the TITAN III booster con~
tractors for the up-rated TITAN Ill vehicle. Submission of firm Phase II
(hardware acquisition phase) contractor proposals is scheduled for May
and June 1966 with Phase II initiation planned for September. 1966.. Con-
tracts for long-lead items of hardware and for facility construction at
Eastman Kodak, which are required to protect the scheduled launch of
an "all-up" manned laboratory in late 1969, were issued in March and
April.

Selection of the launch site at Point Arguello, Air Force Western
Test Range (WTR) was completed in March 1965. Site preparation and
design of the launch facilities have been initiated,

Announcement was made in November 1965 of the selection of eight
MOL astronauts. Two Navy and six Air Force officers were chosen.
All are experienced pilots and graduates of the Air Force: Aerospace

Test Pilot School.

38

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QUILL - The successful QUILL feasibility demonstration in December

1964 established that there is nothing unique in the operation of a

relatively high powered radar in a space environment, The subse-

quent evaluation by a National Photographic Interpretation Center

team of the potential of a satellite radar for reconnaissance identified

missions where such a system could be of definite value, both as a {

supplement to photographic coverage and as a separate sensor. These

included use iri Crisis Indications and Strike Effectiveness Assessment

missions,
During the period of this report, the National Reconnaissance

Office has been conducting several studies related to further definition

of possible operational satellite radars. Testing the remaining QUILL

subsystems has been completed, The data obtained are expected to be

of value in design and fabrication of any future radar systems. Related

design studies for state-of-the-art spacecraft wide band magnetic tape

recorders have been completed, ~ ‘
Additional studies still underway and expected to be completed by

September 1966 include:

1. Two system studies for long lifetime, variable mode (high

resolution/small swath and low resolution/wide swath) satellite radars.

36
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CORONA Improvement

Two additional capabilities will be incorporated into the CORONA
program in July and August: a panoramic geometry modification and
the use of a large tank THOR (THORAD). The panoramic geometry
modification will permit accurate measurements of the internal
geometry of the camera andthe film position to permit compilation
of more accurate maps from the photography. The THORAD will
increase mission life from (the present) 10 days to 14 days.

Future improvements also include a three-inch focal length terrain
camera and a constantly rotating lens for the panoramic cameras.
These modifications will provide an improved mapping capability and
will permit flying at lower altitudes. Both of these improved capabili-

ties are scheduled to be available in July 1967,

34
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Significant progress has been made in the TAGBOARD drone
feasibility demonstration. Since the last report on this program,
two launches of the drone have been accomplished, The first
launch, 5 March 1966, resulted in only four minutes of flight, but
proved that separation between the vehicle was possible and that
the stability of the drone passing through the complex shock wave
pattern was adequate to maintain engine ignition. The second
launch, 27 April 1966, resulted in a 35 minute flight of some 1100
n.m. The drone exceeded the performance goals of Mach 3.3 and
95,000 feet; it actually flew at Mach 3.35 and over. 97, 000 feet;
‘the drone also made a programmed 30° turn at a point 550 miles
along the flight path, There are 17 drones remaining of which 5 to

; 7 are expected to be used on future test missions. The next test

launch is scheduled for the week of 23 May 1966.

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L_FOREWORD

The organization and functions of the National Reconnaissance
Office remain essentially unchanged since the last Annual Report to
the Board, in October 1965. Additionally, there have been few
significant changes in USIB intelligence requirements against which
the efforts of the National Reconnaissance Program are directed.
These items are not included in this Semi-Annual Report but will be
covered in detail in the next Annual issue. ,
| : Recent significant decisions of the NRP Executive Committee
concerning the new general search system (HEXAGON) and the

initiation of the BS or ocram are reflected in this report.

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Current Status: HE eorex receivers Po

have failed to date. The other receivers are still operating normally.

Po one must now be tasked at a reduced level due

to power supply degradation. The next POPPY launch is scheduled

for the fall of this year.

Intelligence Highlights: POPPY has intercepted EE «i:

on numerous occasions. HE bas tracked the POPPY payloads.

these two signals. POPPY's unique contribution has been to define

or

HMM. Additional POPPY intercepts have detected several unknown
eign,
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IL COLLECTION OPERATIONS

This section of the report describes satellite and aircraft recon-
naissance collection activities of the National Reconnaissance Program

during the period 1 November 1965 through 30 April 1966,

A. Satellite Photographic Reconnaissance

CORONA (Photographic Search and Surveillance): There were
five CORONA launchings during this reporting period and all ten pay-
load capsules were successfully recovered. While two of the missions ©

were degraded due to on-orbit malfunctions (see Footnotes 1 and 2) all

{
|
|

provided usable intelligence information,

CORONA Highlights

i : Mission 1030-J, 9 to 19 March, was extremely productive (especially

the second capsule) with highlights as follow:

a. Covered 13 of the 25 deployed ICBM complexes;

b. Revealed ten new, large, single silos at Zhangiz Tobe, Imeni
Gastello and Dombarovskiy;

ce. Achieved coverage of Tyura Tam with both capsules;

d, Revealed an AMM/SAM launch facility near Kalinin with three

| launch areas under construction;

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21

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IL BUDGET

Because of the sensitivity of its mission, the National Reconnais-
sance Program financial program is handled partly as classified open
("white") and partly as classified covert ("black"), The pages which
follow show the National Reconnaissance Program financial costs, and

the level of activity on, which these costs are estimated, through 1971,

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13
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ZARF Handle Via Indicated Controls

SYEMAN—TALENT~KEYMOLE—COMINT

ESIDENTS FOREIGN

ADVISORY BOARD.

Project IDEALIST OXCART—CORONA~GAMBIT=

[EE 1100-01140 ”

INTELLIGENCE

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—FOP-SECREF-

f. Covered three major nuclear production facilities.

Mission 1026~-J, flown 28 October through 7 November, covered
ten of the 25 deployed ICBM complexes and revealed two new large
single silo sites at Uzhur and a possible new group of small single
silos at Gladkaya, Also photographed were the missile test centers
at Sary Shagan ang Kapustin Yar.

Mission 1027-J, flown 10 December (see Footnote 1), covered three
of the 25 deployed ICBM complexes and the Makat field launch R&D

i point,
Mission 1028-J, flown from 25 December 1965 to 2 January 1966,
covered 15 of the 25 deployed ICBM complexes. This mission revealed

new large single silos at the Kartaly and Dombarovskiy complexes, and

new small single silo groups at the Perm and Olovyannaya complexes.
Also, three AMM/SAM launch complexes, similar to those at Tallinn
and Cherepovets, were discovered in the Zverdiovsk region,

Mission 1029-J, flown 3 to 12 February, was very productive,

especially the first bucket, with highlights as follow:

i
|
i

a, Covered 19 of the 25 deployed ICBM complexes;

-b, Revealed three new, large, single silos at Zhangiz Tobe and

Imeni Gastello;

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e, The Novaya Zemlya nuclear test area was covered and new .
activity was observed in the underground test area;

f. A probable new class of missile destroyer was photographed
at the Leningrad shipyards.

, g Semipalatinsk was covered on 13 and 17 March, The crater of
the 13 February underground test now appears to be 190 feet deep rather
than 300 as reported in the readout of 4025-G. No evidence was -
observed of preparation for the 20 March test.

Mission 1031-J, 8 to 18 April, acquired good coverage on the first

bucket. but was limited to mono coverage on the second bucket (see -

Footnote 2), Highlights of the missions were as follow:
a, Covered 14 of the 25 ICBM deployed complexes;
b. Obtained very limited coverage of the Tyura Tam missile test
center;
c. Revealed four new single silo launch sites (large) at Uzhur,
six at Kartaly and three in the Dombarovskiy complex; .
d. Revealed new single silo (small) launch groups at Perm and
Tatishchevo; ,
e. Covered the Sary Shagan missile test center on three successive

days of coverage on the first bucket;

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During the six-month period since 1 November 1965, there have
been 40 drone missions against reconnaissance targets in North
Vietnam and South China, Of these, 20 were successful, 3 were
shot down by MIG aircraft, 7 were shot down by SA-2 missiles, and
10 failed to return for unknown reasons. Eight of the missions were
low-level; 32 were high altitude flights. .

On 10 April, the first operational mid-air retrieval of the drone
using the CH-3C helicopter was made. This newly developed air
recovery system will minimize recovery damage and expedite turn-

around time on the drones. |

30

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B. Satellite SIGINT Reconnaissance

SIGINT payloads employed by the National Reconnaissance Program
are designed primarily to satisfy general search, electronics order of
battle (EOB), or directed coverage of specific areas. Following are
brief program descriptions and summary highlight SIGINT achievements
during this reporting period.

POPPY - Mission J:

The objective of this mission is to conduct General Search for new
and unusual signals in the A secondary mission
is to locate selected radars for updating the EOB. rhe
were placed into orbit by a THOR/AGENA booster combination on
9 March 1965, to an altitude of 500 n.m.

A POPPY payload consists of simple fixed bandwidth crystal
video receivers. A separate pulse is transmitted by the payload
whenever a receiver intercepts a radar pulse. The payload transmitted
pulses are received by strategically placed friendly ground stations
around the periphery of the USSR,

Using a processing program devised by NSA, locations to less than
| accuracy can be derived for some types of emitters. This EOB

by-product of the POPPY General Search mission uses an

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40

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DECLASSIFIED BY:
DECLASSIFIED ON:

IPT nw kKeore

The Lockheed A-12 (OXCART) aircraft was designed in 1958 as a
"follow-on" reconnaissance aircraft to replace the U-2. The air-
craft cruises at Mach 3,2 at an altitude of approximately 80, 000 ft,
It has an unrefueled range capability of over 2500 n.m. The SAC
SR-71 (Multi-Sensor Reconnaissance) and ADC YF-12A (Fighter)

aircraft were developed from the basic A-12 airframe and advanced

technology.

25

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CHART
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Since the last report to the Board, the OXCART A-12 aircraft
has been declared operational ready. Facilities have been provided
at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, for an advanced base. Per-
‘mission has been requested to deploy to Kadena for operations
against high priority targets in North Vietnam and, if necessary,
in South China. To date, the deployment and operational approval i
has not been given, and we are rapidly approaching the time period
of the summer monsoon; which will inhibit reconnaissance operations. i

On 28 December 1965, aircraft #126 crashed immediately after ,
take -off, The pilot was not injured. The cause of the crash was
determined to be an erroneous connection between the yaw and pitch
sensors of the stability augmentation system. There are ten A-12
aircraft remaining. One of these is a two-seat trainer; two are
reserved for testing. The remaining seven are of the operational . . i
configuration. To date, the A-12's have flown 1908 flights for a total
of 2877:45 hours. Of this total, 656:20 hours have been flown above

Mach 2.0 and 171:00 hours above Mach 3.0. . |

26
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2. Testing of critical experimental subsystems and components,

3. Investigations for readout techniques to overcome some of
the limitations in state-of-the-art spacecraft tape recorders,

4. Target signature studies.

This summer, imagery typical of targets for Crisis Indications
and Strike Effectiveness Assessment missions will be obtained by an
aircraft. (The QUILL feasibility demonstration has shown that air-
craft data should not differ from comparable quality imagery obtained
from satellites.) This imagery will have various ground resolutions,
look angles, signal to noise ratios and dynamic ranges and will be
provided to NPIC for determination of the effects of the various para-
meters on image interpretability. This study activity will continue

through September of this year.

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16
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Page
C. Aircraft Reconnaissance. ....ceccesseeeveeeeses 23

IDEALIST. cee eee e te screceecsereeseecses 23

OXCART. occ sescccceeccccesscccteseseeees 25 i
TAGBOARD....ccesecsenteceretcesscseees 27 :
BLUE SPRINGS,........ccseceeccteceeeees 29 t

IV. Research and Development.......ceeccecseseseeseceeee 31! !
A. _ Satellite; HEXAGON Improved Search System... 31
ee ..... 3:

CORONA Improvement,.......-s00005 34
GAMBIT CUBED-G¥,............6645 35
QUILL Radar Feasibility............. 36

MOL DORIAN Photo Payload:......... 38

D Aicrat: I ..... 40

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i

better at nadir, a mission life of at least 25 days on orbit, and periodic

—

recovery of film in at least two recovery vehicles. Sufficient film will. oe

be carried to photograph in stereo approximately 700, 000 square miles “

per day. ;

The approved management arrangement is shown in Figure 2.

The immediate program objective is to complete source selection
- and system definition activities. It is estimated that the first launch

*. will occur in late 1968 or early 1969.

32
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SEQUENCE OF
DRONE RECOVERY BY HELICOPTER

DRONE MOUNTED UNDER WING OF C-130 LAUNCH
AIRCRAFT



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GAMBIT (Photographic Spotting): Five GAMBIT missions were
flown during this reporting period. Four of these missions were com-
plete successes' and included the most successful, in terms of number

of priority targets covered, of any GAMBIT mission to date. :

GAMBIT Highlights

Mission 4023-G, flown on 9 November, covered parts of the Tyura
Tam missile test center and the ICBM complex at Imeni Gastello, Due
to on-orbit malfunction (see Footnote 3) only three photographic passes
were accomplished over the USSR and European Satellites.

Mission 4024-G, flown 20 to 24 January, covered portions of 15 of
: 25 deployed ICBM complexes. and revealed a new type of single silo under
construction in complex M at Tyura Tam. In addition, six large single
silos at Uzhur appeared to be complete, as were six small silos in
group L of Tyura Tam. ;

Mission 4025-G, 16 to 20 February, covered 10 of 25 deployed ICBM
complexes, Tyura Tam, Sary Shagan launch complex 1, and three major

submarine bases. A new launch area was identified in the Dombarovskiy

ICBM complex and the Ugoinyy missile facility was determined to be a

possible dual MRBM/IRBM site.

8
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Pursuant to the November 1965 direction of the President's
, Scientific Advisory Committee, the MOL design configuration was
altered to permit operation in the unmanned as well as in the manned
_ mode. For unmanned operation the GEMINI B will be replaced by a :
module containing multiple (probably 6) re-entry vehicles.
Firm definition and selection of the primary optical system was
completed in February 1965. Studies revealed that a 70-inch aperture
“lens would be required (vice the 60-inch previously thought adequate)

to provide the desired eround resolution,

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page.

L FOrewOrd.sceccceccececccuceeeesssesteneeeeseaessies 1

mm Collection OperationS.......0...ccccceeeeececcccceeees 3
A. Satellite Photographic Reconnaissance.........., 3
CORONA: " Photographic Search....cesseesee 3
GAMBIT: Photographic Spotting............ 8
B. Satellite SIGINT Reconnaissance..........0+.+-+ 10°
POPPY... ceeetcecsererecctcensrrteetnecces “10 .

See ceeseccenreceseeesssosessceses 12

eben seceesoece et vcceceanee seeccense 14

see ererenncecesecccrrecesecsesses 14

de eceesecceeecenseeesesee 16

eer e cece eeesecesscecsceseesseseces 1D

een ccenercseccsnsesecsessce 21

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During the past six months, there have been [J u-2. flights
against high priority reconnaissance targets. The HE ce tach-
ment of the IDEALIST program made a. The
SAC detachment in South Vietnam made 118 flights against targets in
North Vietnam, Laos,:and along the Cambodian border. Operating
from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, SAC flew 38 missions
over Cuba during this six-month period.

Two U-2s were lost due to crashes during the previous six
months. The total inventory now stands at 17 aircraft; 7 assigned
to CIA, 10 assigned to SAC. A program has been initiated to update
all of the SAC aircraft with the J-75 engine, and the latest camera

and defensive systems.

24

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CHESS - ZARF - RUFF

COMINT

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT
TO THE
PRESIDENT'S FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE
. ADVISORY BOARD

ON ACTIVITIES OF a

THE NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE PROGRAM

1 Nov 65 - 30 Apr 66

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147-G

To avoid the political constraints attendaat io manned overilighis, the
Ryan Q2C target drone was modified into a photographic drone. he
drone is launched from a DC-130 aircraft at an altitude of approximately
15,000 feet, The latest available model, the 147G, cruises at an altitude
of 65, 000 feet for 1600 n.m. at a speed of 450 knots. The reconnaissance
camera provides 320 linear miles of 3 to 5 ft ground resolution photo-
graphy. <A modified G, the 147-J, flies a low altitude mission profile

ai 1500 feet above the ground. The 147-J, equipped with two panoramic
cameras, flies approximately 125 miles at the low altitude before climb-
in, to optimum range altitude of 65,000 feet. The total range is approxi-
mately 650 miles. Upon return oy the arone to the recovery area, the
drone is retrieved with a newly developed Helicopter Mid-Air Retrieval

29
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ec. Revealed a large unexplained crater near D2 in complex D at
Tyura Tam;

d, At Plesetsk identified a new area of construction activity;

e. AtKimry, near Moscow, an AMM/SAM launch facility was
discovered which was ‘similar to the Cherepovets complex except that
the Kimry site was composed of only three launch areas.

.f, BLINDERS were observed at Nezhin airfield for the first time;

g. Dismantling of the HEN ROOST facility at Sary Shagan was
continuing;

h. Semipalatinsk was covered on 6 and 10 February but no evi-
dence of preparations for the 13 February underground test was

observed.

FOOTNOTES: Cause of CORONA mission degradation, due to on-orbit
malfunctions, were:

1. Mission 1027, launched 10 December, failed to change from high
to low pressure gas system after injection and all control gas was
expended by rev 9. . Thus, photography was obtained only during these
nine orbits -- and on only one capsule. Since the control gas.supply
was low, recovery required use of the back-up "Lifeboat" recovery

system. Normally, this system can be used only once during a mission;

. 6
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GAMBIT -3 (Very High Resolution Spotting System)

Development of the GAMBIT-3 spotting system, which is designed
to obtain photography MM cround resolution from 90 n,m., is pro- ,
ceeding on schedule toward a launch on 28 July 1966. The first Satellite
Flight Control Section (SCS) is now in system test. The pad modifica-

tion to support the TITAN II-B is completed and the flight TITAN II-B

is at Vandenberg Air Force Base ready to move to the launch pad.
The first flight payload has begun its initial testing and will com-

plete systems test in June.

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Mission 4026-G, 19 to 24 March, covered portions of eight of the 25
deployed ICBM complexes and Tyura Tam, nine Soviet submarine bases,
five sensitive operations complexes, the Kapustin Yar and Emba missile
test facilities, and the Volsk/Shikhany CW proving grounds. Highlights -
of the mission included discovery of a new group of single silo launch
sites (small) at Tatishchevo and extensive new construction activity in
the Volsk/Shikhany CW complex operations support area. ;

Mission 4027-G, in April 1966, was the most. productive GAMBIT ~
mission to date. Previously, the two most productive GAMBIT missions
(4018 and 4026) covered, respectively, 585 and 491 targets, - Mission 4027
covered 834 COMOR targets due to two factors: approximately 20 percent
of the increase may be attributed to improved programming and the
remainder to the high inclination angle (17°) used on this mission. Bach

pass of the 117° orbit goes across the long dimension of the Sino-Soviet

Bloc, thus providing more time for photography per pass.

FOOTNOTE: 3: 4023-G, launched on 9 November, lost control gas

pressure ‘and accomplished little productive photography.

NRP photographic satellite performance (CORONA and GAMBIT)
and key areas of the globe which have been photographed by these

systems are depicted on the charts which follow.

9
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