Lockheed AQM-60 Kingfisher
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AQM-60 Kingfisher | |
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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
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Manufacturer | Lockheed |
First flight | April 1951 |
Primary user | United States Air Force |
Developed from | Lockheed X-7 |
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]
The X-7's development began in 1946 after a request from the USAF for a
The Kingfisher was capable of evading the vast majority of weapons systems it was used to test, despite the systems being designed to destroy
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
General 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 × 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
- ^ "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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Directory of US Military Rockets and Missiles
- http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-60.html