Lockheed MQM-105 Aquila TADAR

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

United States | 1982

"Despite it never seeing production, just under 1 billion USD was spent on developing the Lockheed Aquila UAV."

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Lockheed MQM-105 Aquila TADAR Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

1 x Herbrandson Dyad 280B 2-stroke piston engine developing 24 horsepower.
Propulsion

130 mph
210 kph | 113 kts
Max Speed

14,764 ft
4,500 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

249 miles
400 km | 216 nm
Operational Range

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Lockheed MQM-105 Aquila TADAR Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

None
(MANNED)
Crew

6.8 ft
2.08 m
O/A Length

12.7 ft
(3.88 m)
O/A Width

3.3 ft
(1.00 m)
O/A Height

265 lb
(120 kg)
Empty Weight

441 lb
(200 kg)
MTOW

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Lockheed MQM-105 Aquila TADAR family line.

XMQM-105A - Prototye Designation

YMQM-105A - Developmental Model

MQM-105 "Aquila" - Proposed Production Model Designation

"Altair" - Proposed Export Sales Model

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/01/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The MGM-105 Aquila (Eagle) TADAR (Target Acquisition, Designation and Aerial Reconnaissance) was the first United States Army attempt at securing a reusable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) capable of conducting a range of mission types. The Aquila was originally developed as "Little R" by Lockheed Missiles and Space Company beginning in the 1970's. Army specifications called for a cost-effective system of small size able to provide the US Army with real-time aerial reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery observation and laser designation. Unfortunately for the Aquila - and the US Army and Lockheed itself for that matter - the MQM-105 became a bloated and expensive project that never lived up to expectations, forcing the entire development effort to be cancelled.

By 1974, Lockheed and the US Army had partnered for development of the new UAV. In December of 1975, flyable prototypes emerged as the XMQM-105A. By August of 1979, the US Army was fully onboard with the Aquila project and rewarded Lockheed with a contract based on the prototypes. The follow-up developmental model appeared in July of 1982 as the YMQM-105A.

The Aquila design fitted a swept-back wing to a flat fuselage shape housing the UAVs payload and engine. The engine was a Herbrandson Dyad 280B 2-stroke system delivering 24 horsepower to a pusher-type propeller system housed in the rear of the fuselage. On board systems included a fixed daytime TV-camera with an integrated autotracker. A laser designator was also included. A night-vision system utilizing FLIR was planned but never enacted. Communications was provided for via a datalink and video downlink. Performance from the piston engine allowed a top speed of 130 miles per hour with a service ceiling of 14,800 feet and an in-flight time of 3 hours.

Launching was accomplished via a catapult system mounted onto a truck while retreival was via an erected netting to catch the incoming Aquila upon return. Net height was adjustable to protect the vehicle's profile and the Aquila was fitted with infrared sensors that automatically brought led itself into the netting.

As may be expected in such pioneering efforts, the Aquila project met with its own inherent deficiencies. Several Aquilas were lost or damaged in crashes while the cost of the project seemingly ballooned with each passing month to go along with changing mission parameters.

The MGM-105 project was officially cancelled in 1987 despite nearly 1 billion dollars sunk into the project. Some 376 Aquila's were slated to be built. Lockheed was also considering an export version.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Lockheed MQM-105 Aquila TADAR. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1 Units
Contractor(s): Lockheed Missiles and Space Company - USA