| SD-4 Swallow | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Reconnaissance drone |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Republic Aviation |
| Primary user | United States Army |
| Number built | 0 |
TheRepublic SD-4 Swallow was an early high-speedreconnaissance drone developed byRepublic Aviation for theUnited States Army. Intended for use by theU.S. Army Signal Corps to targettactical ballistic missiles, it was cancelled before the first prototype could be completed, and did not see operational service.
Contracts were awarded by the U.S. Army in 1960 for development of a high-speed, long-range reconnaissance drone to gather targeting information for the Army'stactical ballistic missile force; competing designs for the requirement were developed by Republic Aviation, which proposed a 'clean-sheet' aircraft given the designation SD-4 Swallow, andFairchild Aircraft, which developed a variant of theBull Goose decoy missile as theSD-5 Osprey.[1]
Given the full designationAN/USD-4 for its overall system,[2] the SD-4 was oftailless delta configuration,[1] with power provided by aPratt & Whitney J60 turbojet, the military version of the civilian JT12 engine;[3] two Arrow 2jet-assisted takeoff-type rocket boosters allowing forzero-length launch from a specially designed trailer.[4]
In a similar fashion to Republic's smallerSD-3 drone, the Swallow was equipped withan interchangeable nose section allowing foraerial photography,infrared photography, orradar systems to be installed depending on mission needs.[4] Capable of operating in any weather conditions,[5] recovery following the completion of the SD-4's mission was to be byparachute.[4]
Before any flight test vehicles were constructed,[1] the program was cancelled in January of 1961 due to cost constraints.[6]
Data from Parsch 2004[2]
General characteristics
PerformanceNewcome states the SD-4 and SD-5 were subsonic.[1]
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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