The XB-70 (2019)

The XB-70 My Dad and the Cold War On the occasion of the public unveiling of the XB-70 Valkyrie, brigadier general Fred Ascani stood at his podium and began addressing the crowd at North American Aviation’s plant no. 42 in Palmdale, California. General Ascani was the Air Force’s program director for the project and knew as much as anyone about the plane, but as the massive delta-winged XB-70 was towed out of the hangar he stopped his prepared speech, turned to look, and, like everyone else in attendance that afternoon, simply stared in disbelief. The XB-70, conceived during the height of the Cold War as a replacement for the B-52, was perhaps the most audacious plane ever commissioned by the Air Force. It was designed to fly higher and faster than any enemy fighter, drop thermo-nuclear bombs over targets in the Soviet Union, outfly the blast radius, and then return home without ever refueling. It was intended to be the ultimate display of American technological prowess; the ultimate ... Read full article.