The Fairchild SD-5 Osprey was an early high-speed
reconnaissance drone developed by
Fairchild Aircraft
Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas.
History
Early aircraft
The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 1 ...
for the
United States Army. Intended for use by the
U.S. Army Signal Corps to target
tactical ballistic missiles, it was cancelled before the first prototype could be completed, and did not see operational service.
Design and development
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
Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas.
History
Early aircraft
The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 1 ...
, which developed a variant of the
Bull Goose decoy missile as the SD-5 Osprey.
[Newcome 2004, p.75.]
Given the full designation AN/USD-5 for its overall system,
[Parsch 2004] the SD-5 was of
tailless delta configuration,
[Ordway and Wakeford 1960, p.USA51.] with power provided by a
Pratt & Whitney J60 turbojet (the military version of the civilian JT12 engine); a single rocket booster of the
jet-assisted takeoff
JATO (acronym for jet-assisted take-off) is a type of assisted take-off for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets. The term ''JATO'' is used interchangeably with the (more specific ...
type, giving 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.
Guidance during the mission was provided by an
inertial navigation system and
autopilot.
[Newcome 2004, p.75.]
Operational history
The first flight of the SD-5 took place in May 1960;
fifteen prototypes were constructed for the test program, with Fairchild quoting a cost per drone of $350,000-$400,000
USD for production aircraft.
['']Aviation Week & Space Technology
''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...
'' volume 73 (1960)
p. 361
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.
Specifications
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
1961 National Archives newsreelon the Unmanned Airborne Surveillance System, AN/USD-5
{{US Army drones
SD-4
1950s United States military reconnaissance aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
Single-engined jet aircraft
Tailless delta-wing aircraft
Unmanned military aircraft of the United States