Before there was the SR-71, there was the WS118P program. Weapon System 118P called for new high altitude recon birds, with three different categories:
1: Subsonic U-2-like aircraft
2: Supersonic planes in the Mach 3+ range
3: Suborbital rocket-boosted gliders
Shown below is one of the North American Aviation entries. It clearly shares much in common with the contemporary B-70 and F-108 designs. Had things gone notably differently, one can imagine that there would have been numerous photo ops and air shows featuring all three aircraft flying in formation.
Much more info on the NAA WS-118P design (and some on the Bell design) for supersonic cruise can be found in the V1N4 issue of Aerospace Projects Review. Information on the Bell design for the suborbital WS118P, and the Northrop subsonic design, can be found in the V2N3 issue of APR.
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