Aerojet MQM-58
The Aerojet MQM-58A was an unmanned aerial vehicle that was deployed for various uses in the 1960s. The manufacturer was the US company Aerojet-General Corporation , at that time a subsidiary of the General Tire & Rubber Company.
history
The MQM-58 was developed on the basis of a contract with the US Army Signal Corps and in close cooperation with the Army Electronic Proving Ground. Aerojet won the contract by buying a division of the Rheem Manufacturing Company in 1959. The first flight of the prototype took place in July 1958. After extensive comparative flight tests, the MQM-58A (until June 1963 referred to as SD-2 ) was used by the US Army selected as the carrier of various sensor systems. The first copy of the improved production version with an elongated fuselage started for the first time on April 19, 1960.
construction
The MQM-58 was a cantilevered shoulder wing aircraft with a NACA 65-A412 wing profile. The wings had neither a V-position nor an angle of attack . The hull in half-shell construction consisted of magnesium, aluminum and fiberglass composites. The V-tail with an angle of 90 ° was also made of magnesium and aluminum. The missile was recovered using a two-stage parachute with a diameter of 20.51 m.
The MQM-58 was launched from a 2 1/2 t Army truck, using two drop-off solid rocket boosters . The flight control was carried out with an ITT radio system, which was operated by three people. In addition, a program specialist (programmer?) Was available.
Flaps on the underside of the missile allowed the installation of a wide variety of military equipment such as photo transmission equipment, side-view radar , infrared surveillance systems and also a 70-mm camera equipment. But missions for the US Army Chemical Corps were also possible to spread biological or chemical warfare agents. Since flares were also used for lighting, photographic night operations could also be carried out.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 4.90 m |
| span | 4.06 m |
| height | 1.09 m |
| Wing area | 2.58 m² |
| Wing extension | 6.4 |
| Volume of the payload bay | 0.15 m³ |
| Military payload | 106 kg |
| Empty mass | 450 kg (equipped) |
| Max. Starting mass (without booster) | 510 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 605 kg |
| Top speed | 556 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 6100 m |
| Use radius | 185 km |
| Duration of use | 45 min |
| Engines | 1 × Lycoming IMO-360 -BIB 4-cylinder air-cooled boxer engine with 225 PS (165 kW), Hartzell propeller |
literature
- John WR Taylor (Ed.): Jane's All The World's Aircraft - 1965–66 . Sampson Low, Marston & Company Ltd., London 1965, p. 351 .