The BQM-74E is propelled during flight by a single Williams J400 (J400-WR-404) turbojet engine, which produces a maximum thrust of 240 lbf (1,100 N) at sea level.

The BQM-74 is used primarily as a realistic aerial target, capable of simulating enemy threats for gunnery and missile training exercises.

Chukar is the name of an Asian species of partridge, introduced to America and as they are hunted for sport, it seems that Northrop felt that the name was appropriate for an aircraft whose purpose in life is to be shot at.

In the mid-1970s, the US Naval Weapons Center used the MQM-74A as the basis for an experimental drone designated the XBQM-108, which was to be used to as a demonstrator for a "pogo" or "tailsitter" aircraft that could take off and land straight up and down on its tail.

At least 1,400 Chukar IIs were built, mostly for the US Navy, but other customers included NATO, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, and Spain.

The BQM-74C has now been replaced in production by the BQM-74E, which is externally all but identical but incorporates the uprated J400-WR-404 engine as standard, and has a third greater range and endurance than its predecessor.

The BQM-74F has general configuration along the lines of the BQM-74C, but features swept wings, an empty weight of 600 lb (270 kg), an uprated engine with 300 lbf (1,300 N) of thrust, speed of up to Mach 0.93 (710 mph; 1,100 km/h), and a design lifetime of 20 flights.

The Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a development contract in 2002, and the first BQM-74F was unveiled on 22 August 2005, with its first flight taking place seven days later at the naval air station in Point Mugu, California.

When the Gulf War air campaign began on the night of 17 January 1991, Iraq was hit by attack waves of Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters and BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Iraqi air defense radars which probed for the drones were engaged by allied strike aircraft firing AGM-88 HARMs (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles).

After the war, the 4468th was disbanded, and one of the remaining BQM-74Cs was donated to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, where it is now on display.

On 16 November 2013, a BQM-74E hit and damaged the USS Chancellorsville (CG-62), slightly injuring two sailors and making a hole in the superstructure just above the deck.

The drone was supposed to turn away more than a mile from the cruiser during exercises to test the latest version of the Aegis Combat System, but instead continued straight into the ship.