In the late stages of the Cold War, when nuclear optimism and strategic anxiety peaked together, Lockheed engineers quietly sketched out an aircraft so vast and so heavily armed that it blurred the ...

Modern machines of war are intimidating, but Lockheed drew up plans for a flying aircraft carrier in the 1960s that was would have had enemies duly alarmed.

With a 1,120-foot wingspan and eight nuclear reactors, the Lockheed CL-1201 wasn’t just a plane—it was a floating military base. It could stay airborne for over a month and launch 22 fighter jets ...