Project AQUILINE

Since targets like Cuba and the Soviet radar installation at Tallinn, Estonia were not too deep in hostile territory, and with recent advances in electronics miniaturization, the CIA considered the use of small, unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles to fill the need.

The aircraft would need to have a very-low radar cross-section and small visual and acoustical signatures, allowing it to reconnoiter an area of interest without the target's knowledge.

Still, the project was considered ready to advance to operational testing at the Office of Special Activities where it successfully demonstrated a 130-mile (210 km) range and very-high-resolution photography, meeting the 1967 specifications.

On the recommendation of CIA DDS&T (Deputy Directory for Science and Technology) Carl Duckett, the project was cancelled on November 1, 1971.

[4] Pocock reports that the aircraft tested at Groom Lake was designed to fly at an altitude of 500–1,000 feet (150–300 m) for 3,000 miles (4,800 km) on 100 pounds (45 kg) of fuel.