The Lockheed Aequare (''

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

'': "to equalize") was an

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

developed by the

Lockheed Missiles and Space Company Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (LMSC) was a unit of the Lockheed Corporation "Missiles, Space, and Electronics Systems Group." LMSC was started by Willis Hawkins who served as its president. After Lockheed merged with Martin-Marietta the ...

for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. It was intended for launch from an

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

fighter-bomber, and would carry a remote

sensor array A sensor array is a group of sensors, usually deployed in a certain geometry pattern, used for collecting and processing electromagnetic or acoustic signals. The advantage of using a sensor array over using a single sensor lies in the fact that an ...

and

laser designator A laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser-guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, AGM-114 Hellfire ...

for use by the launching aircraft. The system was evaluated in the mid 1970s, but did not enter operational service.

Design and development

Development of the Aequare was initiated in 1973 with the awarding of a contract from the

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...

(DARPA) to the

for the development of an expendable miniature air-launched remotely piloted vehicle (later known as unmanned aerial vehicle) for use by the United States Air Force (USAF) to find and designate targets for

strike aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...

in high-threat environments.Munson 1988, p.165. The resulting aircraft, produced under subcontract by Windecker Industries,Munson 1988, p.165. was equipped with a folding wing and a pusher

ducted fan In aeronautics, a ducted fan is a thrust-generating mechanical fan or Propeller (aeronautics), propeller mounted within a cylindrical wiktionary:duct, duct or shroud. Other terms include ducted propeller or shrouded propeller. When used in vertic ...

powered by a McCulloch MC-101 engine, and was intended to be launched from a SUU-42 flare dispenser,Parsch 2004 which would be released from a

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

fighter-bomber at approximately and descend under parachute. Upon deployment of the main parachute, the Aequare would be released, starting its engine and flying under

radio command guidance Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness. Guidance systems improve missile accuracy by improving its P ...

from a ground station, with imagery and telemetry transmitted through a

datalink A data link is a means of telecommunications link, connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a t ...

, with the launching aircraft acting as a relay using the CTU-2 datalink pod.Janes 1979, p.190. The Aequare was equipped with cameras for

aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or Strategy, strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including Artillery observer, artillery spott ...

and also was fitted with a laser designator to allow the launching F-4, or other aircraft, to attack targets found by the UAV.

Operational history

The Aequare first flew in mid-1975; between 15 and 20 prototype aircraft were produced. Following the end of the system's flight trials in March 1976, no production was undertaken. A development of the Aequare, SAVIOR (Small Aerial Vehicle for Observation, Intelligence, and Reconnaissance), jointly produced by LMSC and Windecker, used the fuselage and engine of Aequare mated to a new fixed wing and landing gear configuration; it was used to research

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...

design and launch-and-recovery techniques for unmanned aerial vehicles.Munson 1988, p.204.

Specifications

References

Citations

Bibliography