Following its withdrawal from operational usage, the Petrel was used as a target drone, receiving the designation AQM-41A shortly before being retired from service altogether.

[3] Various different design options were considered for this missile; the final choice was a Mark 21 Mod 2 torpedo,[4] 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter, with a Fairchild J44 turbojet engine providing 1,000 lbf (4.4 kN) thrust, wooden fins and wings 13 feet 2 inches (4.01 m) in span, and a nose fairing housing guidance equipment.

On launch the 3,800-pound (1,700 kg), 24-foot (7.3 m) missile dropped to 200 feet (61 m) above the water and cruised at Mach 0.5 towards the target, using semi-active radar homing.

[7] The weapons were produced at the Fairchild Guided Missiles Division factory at Wyandanch, Long Island, New York;[8] production was completed by 1957.

[9] Later in 1956 patrol squadrons VP(HM)-13 on the Atlantic coast and VP(HM)-10 on the Pacific coast began working up with P2V-6M Neptune carrier aircraft; however in 1957 responsibility for the Petrel was transferred to the United States Navy Reserve units, with VP-834 being assigned as the Petrel's operational squadron in the USNR.