This memo signaled the beginning of Project Black Shield, although the operational missions were not forthcoming. During 1965 and 1966, several proposals for the A-12 deployment had been sent to the 303 Committee; none were approved. Those who opposed did not think the intelligence requirements were so urgent as to justify the political risks of basing this “spy plane” in Okinawa or revealing the capabilities of the A-12 to China or the Soviet Union.
It was not until May 1967 that President Johnson approved a “Go”. But China was not the target this time. The plan was to collect photo intelligence whether the North Vietnamese could deploy surface-to-surface missiles:
The first Black Shield mission (BSX-001) took place on May 31, 1967. Although the deployment plan did not call for overflight of China, the mission track shows how closely the A-12 flew past China’s Hainan Island:
And the “take” did cover some parts of the island as the following Mission Coverage Index indicates:
Some Chinese targets covered by BSX-001 were:
This is not the only time that the A-12 photographed Chinese targets. During Black Shield, several other missions also covered Hainan Island. Actually in some cases, the wide turn profile of the A-12 forced the mission aircraft to intrude into Chinese airspace. Luckily the Chinese did not attempt to intercept.