The Argus As 292 was originally developed in 1939 as a small, remote-controlled unmanned anti-aircraft target drone.
Apart from Argus, two other companies were involved in the production of the As 292: Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (German: German Research Institute for Gliding) supplied technical assistance with the airframe construction; C. Lorenz Company with the radio-control system.
An earlier effort in 1937 at developing an aircraft-sized target drone, the Fieseler Fi 157, ended in failure.
Testing of this Aufklärungsgerät (reconnaissance device) version started in early 1939 and first aerial photography was made on 2 October 1939.
After successful demonstrations Argus received an initial production order for 100 As 292 aircraft in late 1939.