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Re:Soviet Union sold titanium to US believing they needed it... by aardvark179 on Sunday June 18, 2023 @09:08PM (#36386158)
I agree there probably is an interesting story, but it’s also worth noting the things that weren’t true back in the 60s. I found some old declassified CIA reports that suggest the USSR controlled 70% of world titanium production, and that this was five times US production. Patents for the processes used in Australian production appear to date from 1960 onwards, and there is also a note that 80% of the titanium bought for these aircraft was rejected due to impurities.

Putting all those things together I would guess that they could not get enough titanium without getting it from the USSR, and that they would have had to use a front company in any event as they had not publicly acknowledged the aircraft’s development.

Re:Soviet Union sold titanium to US believing they needed it... by sidewndr46 on Monday June 19, 2023 @08:30AM (#36390300)
This isn't really true, the YF-12 in 1964 was used by the government to acknowledge the aircraft's existence without revealing its exact purpose.