[3] The 556th designation was reactivated by Air Combat Command for its current mission due to its lineage and long history of surveillance and intelligence-gathering.

The 15th flew air reconnaissance and mapping missions over Sicily and Southern Italy prior to Allied invasions during 1943.

The squadron, however operated in a deployed status from Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam.

The carrier aircraft had a console for two controller pilots equipped with all the usual flight instruments, which read the data sent to them from the drone.

All data about the navigation, planned route, actual flight pad and position of the drone, and the carrier aircraft were fed into a single system which showed them on one display.

In 1969 alone, North Vietnamese fighters – primarily MiG-21s – were scrambled no less than 540 times in order to intercept drones, claiming to have shot down ten AQM-34s.

Finishing its photo run, the drone turned toward the Tonkin Gulf where it was to ditch after expending its fuel.

As part of the drawdown of United States forces from South Vietnam the 556th was officially moved to Yokota Air Base, Japan in 1971, although limited operations continued from Bien Hoa until 30 Jun 1972 when the squadron was inactivated.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency