The Kingfisher was capable of evading the vast majority of weapons systems it was used to test, despite the systems being designed to destroy hypersonic missiles in flight. This created much embarrassment at the USAF and considerable political fallout. This led to the discontinuation of production in 1959 and the cancellation of the project in the mid-1960s.[3]
The engine developed for the AQM-60 was later modified for use on the long range nuclear armed CIM-10 Bomarc, which was a nationwide defense against nuclear bombers during the 1960s and early 1970s. An endurance variant of the same engine was produced for use in the Lockheed D-21, which was launched from the back of a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird mothership or from under the wing of a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress nuclear bomber.[4]
lockheed, kingfisher, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, novem. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lockheed AQM 60 Kingfisher news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message The AQM 60 Kingfisher originally designated XQ 5 was a target drone version of the USAF s X 7 ramjet test aircraft built by the Lockheed Corporation The aircraft was designed by Kelly Johnson who later created the Lockheed A 12 and its relatives such as the Lockheed SR 71 Blackbird and Lockheed YF 12 1 AQM 60 Kingfisher AQM 60 Kingfisher awaiting loading onto its B 50 mothership before a test of US air defenses Role Target drone National origin United States of America Manufacturer Lockheed First flight April 1951 Primary user United States Air Force Developed from Lockheed X 7 The X 7 s development began in 1946 after a request from the USAF for a Mach 3 unmanned aerial vehicle for test purposes This craft evolved into the Kingfisher which was later used to test anti missile systems such as the MIM 3 Nike Ajax SAM A 25 MIM 14 Nike Hercules and IM 99 CIM 10 2 The Kingfisher was capable of evading the vast majority of weapons systems it was used to test despite the systems being designed to destroy hypersonic missiles in flight This created much embarrassment at the USAF and considerable political fallout This led to the discontinuation of production in 1959 and the cancellation of the project in the mid 1960s 3 The engine developed for the AQM 60 was later modified for use on the long range nuclear armed CIM 10 Bomarc which was a nationwide defense against nuclear bombers during the 1960s and early 1970s An endurance variant of the same engine was produced for use in the Lockheed D 21 which was launched from the back of a Lockheed SR 71 Blackbird mothership or from under the wing of a Boeing B 52 Stratofortress nuclear bomber 4 Specifications editGeneral characteristics Length 38 ft 1 in 11 6 m Wingspan 9 ft 10 in 3 m Height 6 ft 11 in 2 1 m Gross weight 7 937 lb 3 600 kg Powerplant 1 Marquardt XRJ43 MA ramjet Sustainer Powerplant 2 Thiokol XM45 5KS50000 solid fuel rockets 50 000 lbf 222 kN thrust each for 5s Boosters Performance Maximum speed Mach 4 3 Range 110 nmi 130 mi 210 km Service ceiling 98 000 ft 30 000 m References edit Johnson Clarence Leonard National Aviation Hall of Fame nationalaviation org Archived from the original on 25 March 2016 Retrieved 12 April 2018 Area 51 Black Jets A History of the Aircraft Developed at Groom Lake Bill Yenne 2014 p 95 The Lockheed X 7 www 456fis org Archived from the original on 19 May 2018 Retrieved 12 April 2018 Goodall and Goodall 2002 p 106 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lockheed X 7 Directory of US Military Rockets and Missiles http www designation systems net dusrm m 60 html Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lockheed AQM 60 Kingfisher amp oldid 1141681858, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
