Lockheed's Insane Attack Carrier: The CL-1201

In 1969, the U.S. government launched one of the most unusual projects in the history of aviation. It had only two objectives. Determine just how large an aircraft could get and demonstrate what it would mean for U.S. air power. Spearheaded by the most secretive company in aviation, the result is the Lockheed CL-1201, a project that to this day remains shrouded in mystery. The 1960s saw breathtaking advancements in the field of aerospace. Aircraft were flying faster, higher and further. And engineers weren't just pushing the limits of speed. Aircraft were getting larger. The newly developed Lockheed C-5 was a massive machine weighing several hundred tons. Its power and range dwarfed anything before it. But it wasn't unrealistic to assume that aircraft could get many times larger. Advances in aerodynamics exotic new materials and even new forms of propulsion were just around the corner. Much of the breakneck pace in development was fueled by the Cold War. With the United States and Soviet Union vying to gain the upper hand, huge sums were spent developing spy planes that could fly faster and higher and bombers that could carry more payload further. The aim was to reach any corner of the world as quickly as possible. To counter the expansion of Soviet power, the United States maintained a strategy of containment. And that meant maintaining a vast fleet of carrier battle groups that could respond to a crisis anywhere in the world. But as the Cold War intensified throughout the 1960s, no corner of the world seemed safe from Soviet agitation. To respond quickly and decisively, the United States looked to radical new technologies. By the 1960s, the Lockheed California Company was developing the world's most advanced aircraft. Pushing the technology of the time to its absolute limit. And they had worked with the Navy and Air Force to evaluate new technologies and develop the next generation of military aircraft. Much of it highly classified. But in 1969, the company produced an unusual study that seemed out of place even among its cutting-edge research. It detailed an aircraft with monstrous proportions, at nearly 6,000 tons and with an 1,100-foot wingspan, to serve as both a military transport and an airborne aircraft carrier. Yet today, surprisingly little is known about the project. Because Lockheed's study has vanished without a trace. Even the U.S. Department of Defense has no record of it. As if it were somehow lost or erased from existence. But over the years, Lockheed's design has been cited in several other aerospace studies. Including a report from 1982 that provides just enough detail to piece together one of the most unusual aircraft ever studied. With a payload capacity measured in the millions of pounds, the Lockheed CL-1201 would represent an entirely new class of aircraft. Giving the United States the ability to deploy several hundred fully equipped troops and armament to anywhere in the world within hours. Or launch dozens of heavily armed combat aircraft on a moment's notice. And Lockheed's engineers outlined a scenario where these capabilities would be vital for the United States. They envisioned an organized uprising halfway across the globe, instigated by the Soviet Union. Responding to a call for assistance, the U.S. would typically deploy a carrier group and marines to help stabilize the situation. But in Lockheed's scenario, the Mediterranean would be blocked off and nearby foreign bases would be unavailable. So the 1201 would provide the only means for a rapid strike with a sizable force launched directly from the continental United States. And to explain how this would all work, I've brought on a former BBC News presenter. Oh hello there. This videocassette will help you learn about the Lockheed CL-1201. With the new 1201, Lockheed will set a new standard for engineering innovation. But you probably have questions about how it'll all work, so let's jump right in. Within hours of receiving a call for assistance, an attack carrier would be dispatched from an airbase in Georgia bound for an aerial staging area over the Mediterranean. Armed with 24 aircraft and long-range cruise missiles, the carrier's role would be to establish air superiority and function as a central command center. Seven logistics support aircraft would also be dispatched to rendezvous with the carrier over the Mediterranean. The logistics support aircraft, or LSAs, are giant aerial transports, each capable of carrying up to 400 combat-equipped troops, 472 specialized crew, and over a thousand tons of mechanized equipment, armament, and supplies to last for 30 days. All 1201s would be equipped with conventional landing gear and operate from paved runways. But for an aircraft of this size, the runway requirements would be absolutely massive. So engineers proposed a novel solution. For maximum operational flexibility, the carrier and LSAs will be fully equipped for short takeoff and landings. Dozens of auxiliary turbofan engines will be housed within the wings and forward fuselage, each capable of delivering an impressive 82,000 pounds of vertical thrust. Four enormous high-bypass turbofans would supply an additional 600,000 pounds of thrust and allow the massive 1201s to cruise at about the same speed as a modern jet transport. But once over the staging area, the carrier and LSAs would need to loiter for extended periods, remaining continuously airborne for up to 30 days. So Lockheed's engineers turned to another unconventional solution. At the heart of every CL-1201 is a 30-foot diameter, 18,000 megawatt nuclear reactor, similar to the kind already used on nuclear submarines, only much larger. The Air Force and Atomic Energy Commission have spent decades testing systems for nuclear-powered aircraft engines. Now these technologies will finally come to a head. During takeoff and landings, the 1201s' cruise engines will run on standard jet fuel, and it's only above 16,000 feet that they will be switched to nuclear power. Each engine is fitted with a heat exchanger and can operate on either jet fuel or heat from the reactor. Coolant loops both inside and outside of the containment vessel will transfer heat from the reactor core while safely containing radioactive materials. Radiation exposure will be limited by shielding, and the reactor's containment vessel would be housed inside an impact-absorbing structure. A minimum 16,000-foot altitude for nuclear-powered operations was selected on the basis that it would provide sufficient time for reactor shutdown in the event of an accident. Engineers are confident that the reactor will be fail-safe even in a head-on impact with a granite mountain, assuming a prior 20-second shutdown warning. Now, how's that for safety? Along with the carrier and LSAs, a number of conventional jet transports would also need to make their way to the staging area to support the assault force. Over the staging area, the LSAs would be joined by smaller military transport aircraft, referred to as medium inter-theater transports, or MITs. The MITs would rendezvous with the LSAs, docking in mid-flight to transfer troops, weaponry, and supplies. The MITs would then connect to the LSAs via a towline and remain on standby. The 1201's blended wing design would make it an ideal platform for mid-air docking and transfer, and with the assault force in place, combat operations would begin immediately. Working in conjunction with allied forces on the ground, carrier-based attack aircraft would clear enemy defenses to establish a secure airfield. Next, the MITs would begin shuttling troops and equipment between the LSAs and the airfield, protected by carrier-based fighter aircraft. Aircraft this large would be high-value targets, but Lockheed's engineers weren't expecting adversaries to get anywhere near them. By operating at 30,000 feet and at least 600 nautical miles from hostile forces, it would be virtually impossible for the enemy to approach unobserved. But should the enemy attempt to engage, they'd have to contend with an impressive range of counter-air aircraft, long and short-range missiles, and, of course, laser weapons. After establishing a sizable presence on the ground, American troops working with allied forces could stabilize the situation within 30 days and reopen the Mediterranean Sea for a larger, conventional, ocean-going naval force. I hope this video has proved informative. As you can see, the CL-1201 is an entirely new class of aircraft and a new means of delivering a rapid response strike to anywhere in the world, keeping America and her allies safe. It's not clear what prompted such an unusual design study. Was it a strategic threat? A need to assess the limits of aerospace technology? Or was Lockheed simply keeping its summer interns busy? What's clear is that there are many unanswered questions. Not just technical and engineering, but basic questions like how the fighters were supposed to be rearmed during combat, or how they would have docked with massive wake turbulence coming off the carrier's wings. The deeper you dig, the more bizarre it seems to get. But without Lockheed's original report, we'll probably never get the answers. And in the context of the Cold War, the 1201 is just one of hundreds of highly speculative designs, many of which weren't really supposed to answer questions, but helped find the questions yet to be answered. But even among these countless conceptual designs, the 1201 stands out as one of the most unusual ever produced. On an early morning in February 1993, something extraordinary lights up the sky over Europe. A mysterious beam of light brighter than a full moon. And it moves silently for thousands of kilometers, from the southern coast of France all the way to Belarus. On the ground, it looks like an anomaly. But it's part of an experiment so unusual, it seems straight out of science fiction. You're talking about something which is several miles across. There could eventually be a whole network of these cosmic spotlights. They will transform perpetual night into daylight. Decades ago, Soviet scientists set out to create eternal sunlight. And it's hard to understand why years later, no one seems to remember. You can learn about the incredible tsunami project in my latest video right now on Nebula. 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