Lockheed D-21
Supersonic reconnaissance drone developed for deep-penetration missions.
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The Lockheed D-21 is an American supersonic reconnaissance drone developed by Lockheed's Skunk Works. It was notable for its extreme speed and altitude, designed to conduct deep-penetration reconnaissance missions over hostile territory.
Background
Development of the D-21 began in October 1962 under the Lockheed designation Q-12. It was intended to be launched from the back of an M-21 carrier aircraft, a variant of the Lockheed A-12.
The drone carried a single high-resolution photographic camera over a preprogrammed path, then released the camera module for retrieval before self-destructing. The design used titanium construction and radar cross-section reduction features derived from the A-12 program. The drone was powered by a modified Marquardt ramjet engine originally built for the Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc missile.
After a fatal accident during a launch from an M-21 on 30 July 1966, the D-21 was modified to be launched from a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress with a solid rocket booster. The modified version was designated D-21B. Several successful test flights were made, followed by at least four unsuccessful operational missions over China to spy on the Lop Nor nuclear test site, before the program was canceled in 1971.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lockheed D-21 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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