USAF 90-0537 D-21B drone

Some cool Surveillance Cameras images:

USAF 90-0537 D-21B drone

Image by scismgenie

The D-21 drone was a highly classified programmed surveillance drone designed as an accessory to the A-12/ M-21/ SR-71, legend has it one crashed in the Soviet Union, and they could not determine what it was from the wreckage, supposedly they thought it was a UFO. In reality the Titanium it was made of was simply returning to its country of origin.

These must have really alarmed ground trackers, Mach 4, and non-missile like flight paths. Smaller than an SR-71. It came and went and they could only HOPE it wasn’t nuclear.

This one is at the March AFB Museum, In Riverside, California.

The Lockheed D-21 was a Mach 3 reconnaissance drone. The drone was originally designed to be launched off the back of its A-12-based M-21 aircraft. Development began in October 1962. Originally known by the Lockheed designation Q-12, it was intended for reconnaissance missions deep into enemy airspace. The D-21 was designed to carry a single high-resolution photographic camera over a pre-programmed path, then release the camera module into the air for retrieval and self-destruct.

In late 1963, the project was named "Tagboard"; the Q-12 was re-designated D-21 while the A-12 version became M-21 (D- for "daughter" and M- for "mother"). Two production slots from the original 18 A-12 units were designated for the M-21, serial numbers 60-6940, and -6941. The M-21 was a two-seat version of the A-12, with a pylon on the fuselage centerline between the tailfins to carry the drone in a nose-up attitude. A periscope allowed the back-seater, or "Launch Control Operator (LCO)", to observe the D-21. Two M-21s were built, along with an initial batch of seven D-21s for test flights.

The M-21/D-21 program was canceled after an in-flight accident in July 1966. After this the D-21 drone was modified to the D-21B version to add a booster rocket and mount on an underwing pylon on B-52Hs. After flight testing and four operational launches, the B-52H/D-21B program was ended in July 1971. (One crashed in the soviet union, and another was lost, location unknown)

The D-21 Drone was delivered to the museum on July 19, 2007, and it is on loan from the USAF.

Range: 3,450 miles from launch point

Max Speed: 2,700 Mph (Mach 3.5 )

Ceiling: 95,000 Ft

USAF 90-0537 D-21B drone