The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) finished its latest project to maintain an iconic Cold War spy plane outside its headquarters amid years of struggling against the threat of nature.
The A-12 reconnaissance aircraft sitting outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, has battled insects, mold and repeated paint failures since its installation in 2007, CBS News reported. Robert Byer, the agency’s museum director, siad the plane was never designed for it.
“The A-12 is prime real estate here at CIA headquarters,” he said, telling the outlet “this plane was not built with the idea of being outside 24/7,” Byer said. (RELATED: CIA Suddenly Ends Publication Of Decades-Old Public Data Tool)
The agency finished its latest restoration shortly before the 60th anniversary of the A-12 becoming ready for service in November 1965, CBS News reported. The CIA developed the A-12 under the classified Project Oxcart to replace the U-2 spy plane, but it was held back from flying over the Soviet Union after Soviet forces shot down a U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers in 1960, according to the agency’s official museum page.
Aerospace legend Clarence “Kelly” Johnson led the effort at Lockheed’s Skunk Works to build an aircraft that could outrun enemy air defenses at speeds above Mach 3 and altitudes of 90,000 feet. The agency acquired 15 of the planes and flew 29 missions over East Asia from Okinawa between 1967 and 1968 before President Lyndon Johnson ordered the program’s retirement in favor of satellites and the Air Force’s SR-71 Blackbird.
The A-12 OXCART on display at CIA Headquarters was recently restored, repairing years of water damage that caused rust and flaking paint. The restoration of CIA’s A-12 honors its pioneering achievement in aeronautical engineering.
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— CIA (@CIA) February 6, 2026
Five wide-load trucks delivered the aircraft to Langley in 2007 and crews anchored its 39,000-pound frame to pylons extending 40 feet below ground, CBS News reported. The mostly titanium body was designed with gaps and seems so the metal could stretch during high-speed flight. Sitting still for years, those same gaps let in moss, insects and mold. The agency tried a full cleaning and recoating in 2018, but the fixes did not last.
CIA experts visited New York City’s Intrepid Museum and Huntsville, Alabama’s U.S. Space & Rocket Center in the summer of 2025 to study how other institutions care for their A-12s. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center launched its own restoration effort in 2023 and had a 16-person team in 2025, WAAY-TV reported. Those museums’ planes are available for the public, which is not the case for the CIA’s, according to CBS News. Following their consultations, the agency settled on automotive paint for the latest restoration because of its durability and resistance to weather damage.
“It’s a small, small, very small niche subgroup of museums that have an A-12,” Byer said. “And everyone in that club is very friendly [with] sharing information because we all want to keep our A-12s in the best possible shape.”
The Langley aircraft also functions as a memorial for CIA A-12 pilots Walt Ray and Jack Weeks, who died serving in the late 1960s.
“It’s a huge artifact of CIA history, and we’re committed to keeping it in the best possible shape for the future,” Byer said.