Approved for Release: 2013/06/25
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Secret NOFORN
Chapter 6
293
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[figure]
OX CART. This technology would be invaluable for Air Force projects such as the B-70 bomber and for the civilian supersonic transport (SST) then being discussed in Congress. In the fall of 1963, several Presidential advisers expressed their concern to DCI McCone that Lockheed had received a $700 million headstart in the development of supersonic technology, giving the firm a tremendous advantage over other aerospace companies working on a supersonic transport. McCone passed these concerns on to President Kennedy on 12 November 1963, just 10 days before the fateful trip to Dallas. The President instructed CIA and the Defense Department to develop a plan for surfacing the OX CART but to await further discussions with him before taking any action.³⁹
President Lyndon B. Johnson received a detailed briefing on the OX CART program from McCone, McNamara, Bundy, and Rusk on 29 November, after just one week in office. McNamara strongly advocated surfacing a version of the OX CART. McCone was more cautious, calling for the preparation of a statement that could be used when surfacing became necessary but arguing that such a step was not
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³⁹ John A. McCone, “Memorandum of Meeting in Cabinet Room for the Purpose of Discussing the Surfacing of the OX,” 21 January 1963, DCI records (TS Codeword); idem, Memorandum for the Record, Discussion with the President—October 21st—6:00 p.m., 22 October 1963, DCI records (S); *OSA History*, chap. 20, pp. 73-74 (TS Codeword).
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Approved for Release: 2013/06/25