# Lockheed Senior Prom
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{{Short description|Classified stealth cruise missile program conducted by the USAF in the late 70s/early 80s}}
{{redirect|Senior Prom|the formal end-of-school-year dance|Prom|the film|Senior Prom (film)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name = Senior Prom
|image =
|caption =
|type = Experimental stealth cruise missile
|national_origin = United States
|manufacturer = [Lockheed Corporation](/source/Lockheed_Corporation)
|builder =
|designer =
|design_group =
|first_flight = October 1978
|introduction =
|introdction =
|retired = 1982
|status =
|primary_user = [United States Air Force](/source/United_States_Air_Force)
|more_users =
|produced =
|number_built = 6
|developed_from = [Lockheed Have Blue](/source/Lockheed_Have_Blue)
|variants =
|developed_into =
}}
The '''Lockheed Senior Prom''' was a classified [black project](/source/black_project) conducted by the [United States Air Force](/source/United_States_Air_Force) in conjunction with the [Lockheed Corporation](/source/Lockheed_Corporation)'s [Skunk Works](/source/Skunk_Works) for the development and testing of a [cruise missile](/source/cruise_missile) using [stealth technology](/source/stealth_technology). Based on the company's [Have Blue](/source/Lockheed_Have_Blue) demonstrator, the six Senior Prom vehicles proved successful in testing conducted at [Area 51](/source/Area_51) in the late 1970s; despite this, the aircraft was not selected to enter production, and the program was terminated in the early 1980s.
==Design and development==
thumb|right|The airframe of the Senior Prom vehicle was based on that of the Have Blue technology demonstrator, illustrated here.
Following the success of the test program for the [Lockheed Have Blue](/source/Lockheed_Have_Blue) stealth technology demonstrator aircraft, the United States Air Force awarded a contract to the Lockheed Advanced Development Projects division—the "[Skunk Works](/source/Skunk_Works)"—for the development of an [unmanned aerial vehicle](/source/unmanned_aerial_vehicle), intended to act as the prototype of a [cruise missile](/source/cruise_missile), that would apply the Have Blue's [facet](/source/facet)ed design in order to reduce the [radar cross section](/source/radar_cross_section) of the missile by deflecting [electromagnetic waves](/source/electromagnetic_radiation) from radar transmitters away from their source, instead of directly back at the radar set's antenna.[Parsch 2005]
The program began in 1977, with a reported budget of [USD](/source/USD) $24,000,000;[Richardson 2001, p. 65.] the design of the aircraft was closely based on that of Have Blue, except scaled down.[Merlin 2011, p. 108.] Intended for launch from [Lockheed DC-130 Hercules](/source/Lockheed_DC-130_Hercules) [drone](/source/Target_drone) launcher aircraft, the original configuration of the Senior Prom vehicle included [winglets](/source/winglets) and a ventral fin; the aircraft was later modified to include a [V-tail](/source/V-tail) and more slender wings, closer in configuration to the [F-117 Nighthawk](/source/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk) stealth fighter.[Merlin 2011, p. 109.] The aircraft is believed to have been fitted with folding wings to facilitate carriage by the launching aircraft,[{{cite web|url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/02145p04.xml&headline=Pictures%20Give%20Insights%20Into%20Stealth%20Projects|title=Pictures Give Insights Into Stealth Projects|last=Fulghum|first=David A.|author2=Michael A. Dornheim|author3=William B. Scott|date=February 12, 2005|work=Aviation Week & Space Technology|access-date=2012-04-09}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}] and was powered by a single [turbofan](/source/turbofan) engine, with the air intake and exhaust being configured in such a manner that the airframe would shield them from the ground, reducing the aircraft's radar and infrared signatures.[Peebles 1999, p. 289.]
Despite the success of the test program, Senior Prom was cancelled in 1982; reportedly one reason for the cancellation of the project was that the size and configuration of the Senior Prom aircraft rendered it incapable of being carried in internal [weapons bays](/source/bomb_bay) such as that on the [B-1](/source/Rockwell_B-1_Lancer) bomber;[Sweetman 2004, pp. 73-74.] the [AGM-129 ACM](/source/AGM-129_ACM), a competing design to Senior Prom for the cruise missile requirement, had a more slender airframe with retractable wings, which rendered it capable of internal carriage; it began flight testing shortly after the end of the Senior Prom program.