| AQM-91 Firefly | |
|---|---|
| Type | Reconnaissance drone |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Ryan Aeronautical |
| Maiden flight | September 1968 |
| Number built | 28 |
The Ryan AQM-91 Firefly was a developmental drone developed during the Vietnam War to perform long-range reconnaissance, especially into China. An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T Claude Ryan in San Diego California, USA in 1934 The maiden flight of an Aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1968: Events January January 21 - a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress RYAN is a Russian Acronym for Raketno-YAdernoe Napadenie ("Nuclear Missile Attack" An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV is an unpiloted Aircraft. UAVs can be remote controlled or fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National
Development
The Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug reconnaissance drone was enjoying success in Vietnam in the early 1960s, but it lacked the range to fly deep into China and back out again. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National In particular, the Chinese nuclear development facility at Lop Nor was far out of reach of the Lightning Bugs, and was barely within reach of the Lockheed U-2 spyplane, which had become far too vulnerable to SAMs. Lop Nur ( Chinese: 罗布泊 Pinyin: Luóbù Pō also Lake Lop, Lop Nuur) Lop Nor = Lob-nor = Lo-pu po WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A surface to air missile ( SAM) or ground-to-air missile ( GTAM) is a Missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy Aircraft US intelligence thus needed a long-range drone with a high degree of survivability. Such requirements spelled out a completely new design, not a modification of a target drone.
Ryan pursued advanced drone concepts on a part-time basis. After discussions with the CIA that went nowhere, Ryan pitched their advanced reconnaissance drone concepts to the Air Force in early 1966. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. The USAF was interested, and opened up a design competition, with Ryan competing with North American Aviation. North American Aviation was a major US Aircraft manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft including the T-6 Texan trainer the Ryan won the competition in June 1966, and the new design was designated the "Model 154 / AQM-91A Firefly". The basic design concept resembled that of the Model 136 Red Wagon drone that Ryan had proposed earlier in the decade, but which had been turned down in favor of modified Firebees. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The name "Firefly" was resurrected from the early Model 147 program for the new drone, though it was also referred to as "Compass Arrow" after the program name.
The Model 154 had an engine on the top of the fuselage to reduce its radar and infrared signature as seen from below, as well as twin inward-canted tailfins to conceal the exhaust stream. The fuselage (from the French fuselé "spindle-shaped" is an Aircraft 's main body section that holds crew and passengers or Cargo It had sloped flat sides to deflect radar signals, and was built using a high percentage of plastic composites, which had a lower radar reflectivity than metal. The aircraft was powered by a General Electric YJ97-GE-3 turbojet providing 4,000 pounds (1,815kg) thrust, with the engine exhaust mixed with cool air to reduce its infrared signature. The YJ97 was something of a unique engine, not used in any operational aircraft, derived from a General Electric demonstrator engine designated the "GE1".
The Model 154 was to be launched by a DC-130 Hercules director aircraft, and recovered in midair by helicopter. The DC-130 is a variant of C-130 Hercules, designed for drone control It had a precision-navigation autopilot system, a reconnaissance payload, a self-destruct system to ensure that none of its sensitive gear fell into enemy hands, and was to carry electronic countermeasures to further improve its survivability. The primary reconnaissance payload was an Itek panoramic camera, but in principle it could also carry infrared cameras or a SIGINT payload. Itek was a high technology company specializing in special purpose optical systems primarily cameras optimized for high altitude operation
The guidance system was designed to provide navigation accuracies with an error of no more than half a percent. The guidance system proved to be very tricky, and first powered flight of a Model 154 did not take place until September 1968.
The test flights were conducted over the US Southwest. The project was highly secret, but on 4 August 1969 one of the prototypes failed and parachuted to ground inside the Los Alamos nuclear research complex during lunch hour. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Unfortunately, it didn't land in a restricted area, and local newspeople were able to take and publish photographs of the aircraft. The Air Force released a statement that the aircraft was a "high altitude target", but though such a statement might have been believed in 1959, it wasn't in 1969.
Test flights were halted for a few weeks while procedures were reviewed. The flights then resumed, culminating in long-range evaluations in late 1971. The Model 154 passed with flying colors, exceeding its altitude requirements by a good margin, and proving almost invisible to radar. However, by this time the need for the Model 154 had vanished. In July 1971, President Richard Nixon began a diplomatic effort to build ties with China, and reconnaissance overflights were cancelled. Satellite reconnaissance capabilities had improved through the 1960s, leading to the first launch of the advanced "Big Bird" satellite on 15 June 1971, which could provide strategic intelligence without provoking the Chinese. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar.
The Model 154 program lingered on for a few more years, but the drones were finally put into mothballs in 1973, and scrapped a few years after than. 28 had been built, including 20 production machines.
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: None
- Length: 34 ft 2 in (10. 40 m)
- Wingspan: 47 ft 8 in (14. 50 m)
- Empty weight: 3,800 lb (1,725 kg)
- Gross weight: 5,400 lb (2,450 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × General Electric YJ97-GE-3, 4,000 lbf (17. 8 kN)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 505 mph (815 km/h)
- Range: 4,370 miles (7,030 km)
References
This article contains material that originally came from the web article Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic