The US Central Intelligence Agency has published documents on the Aquiline project, during which it was planned to create bird-like scout drones. They were intended for long-term flights over the territory of the USSR, Cuba and China, for which drones were proposed to be equipped with a nuclear power source. The project was not implemented due to the high cost and complexity, but, according to the CIA, it influenced the development of UAVs at the end of the 20th century.
During the Cold War, both the USSR and the United States were interested in obtaining intelligence information about each other. In the late 1950s, the United States began to regularly use U-2 aircraft, which violated the air borders of other countries, but flew at an altitude of over 20 kilometers, unattainable for fighters of that time. After some time, the USSR acquired S-75 high-altitude anti-aircraft missile systems, which, if well located, could shoot down U-2, which was demonstrated on May 1, 1960 in the sky of the Sverdlovsk region. The next American strategic reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 flew at an altitude of up to 30 kilometers and developed a speed of up to three strides, which made it almost invulnerable. Despite hundreds of anti-aircraft missile launches, this type of aircraft was never shot down, but America did not allow the pilots to fly too deep into Soviet territory.after all, with a successful combination of circumstances, the plane could still be intercepted. Satellites were a partial alternative to reconnaissance flights, but before the launch of the KH-11, space images were significantly inferior to airborne images and were transmitted to Earth with a long delay.
In order to continue aerial reconnaissance without significant risks, in the early 70s in the United States, it was proposed to use not aircraft, but unmanned aerial vehicles. At that time, there were target drones, experimental remote-controlled aircraft, guided missiles and tactical front-line reconnaissance, but the CIA project Aquiline ("eagle") proposed something completely different. As part of this project, it was proposed to develop a drone that would carry cameras and radio equipment. At the same time, in appearance, the drone was supposed to resemble a hovering bird - it was assumed that the sight of a single vulture would not arouse suspicion and the device would be able to study strategic objects for a long time. Also, before the US launched the NAVSTAR (GPS) system, drones did not have easy ways to navigate.one of the variants of the project offered the operator to lead the device along roads and telegraph lines.
CIA ARCHIVE.
Since a relatively small device could take on board fuel for only a few tens of kilometers, instead of an internal combustion engine, it was supposed to install an electric motor, and a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) to it. Similar "nuclear batteries" are used today - for example, in astronautics. It is from such a source that the recently launched Perseverance rover will operate, like many spacecraft before it, including Voyager.
The Aquiline project was never implemented, primarily due to the increased cost. McDonnell Douglas has built only five prototypes without a nuclear installation, but even if adopted, it is unlikely that the US government would approve of their use. In the event that radioactive debris fell on the territory of the USSR or China, the political costs would be no less than from the downed classic aircraft. However, the CIA notes that work on an advanced concept of a strategic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft influenced the development of the UAV as a whole.
Despite the fact that the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft lost the ability to fly over the USSR, his career did not end there. The aircraft has gone through many upgrades, and the new variant will begin arriving in the troops in 2021. His old photographs also found an unusual use: in the declassified footage, archaeological objects were discovered that were previously invisible.