In 1960 the U.S. Army issued a requirement for the development of a high-speed, long-range reconnaissance drone to provide targeting information to the Army's tactical ballistic missile force; contracts for competing designs were awarded to Republic Aviation, which proposed an all-new design given the designation SD-4 Swallow, and Fairchild Aircraft, which developed a variant of the Bull Goose decoy missile as the SD-5 Osprey.[1]
Given the full designation AN/USD-5 for its overall system,[2] the SD-5 was of tailless delta configuration,[3] with power provided by a Pratt & Whitney J60 turbojet (the military version of the civilian JT12 engine);[4] a single rocket booster of the jet-assisted takeoff type, giving 40000lbf thrust for 3 seconds, allowed for zero length launch from a specially-designed trailer. Recovery following the mission was by parachute, with airbags used to cushion the landing; sensors including infrared scanners, side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) and optical mapping were available for use, and could be recovered following the mission, or transmitted during the mission via telemetry.[2] Guidance during the mission was provided by an inertial navigation system and autopilot.[5]
The first flight of the SD-5 took place in May 1960;[2] fifteen prototypes were constructed for the test program, with Fairchild quoting a cost per drone of $350,000-$400,000 USD for production aircraft.[6] An operational date of 1964 was anticipated; however, due to the cost of the program, the SD-5 was cancelled in November 1962 before entering service.[2]
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