The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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Gee,et AIO~ORN
Appendix E
Project AXILLARY
AXILLARY
While Project AQUILINE was still under development, its chief aero­
dynamicist, Charles N. Adkins, left the program because he believed
that its escalating costs would prev,ent it from ever producing a de­
ployable aircraft. He wanted to build a small. inexpensive re­
mote-controlled aircraft to test a low-cost lightweight autopilot
currently being developed by ·oRD. Under a $5,000 time-and-materi­
als contract with Melpar. Incorporatt:d. Adkins hired a local model
aircraft builder to assemble and modify a standard Hawk-750 glider
kit and power it with a rear-mounted engine and pusher propeller.
Following a series of successful test flights. Adkins installed a small
camera and took a number of aerial photographs.
By this time the effort to build a "Miniature Multi-Purpose
Airborne Vehicle" had become known as Project AXILLARY.
Melpar, Inc., received a second contract for $50,000 to install ORD's
autopilot in the aircraft. and the projject managers now began search­
ing for a use for their vehicle. The two main possibilites were ( I) as a
short-range reconnaissance vehicle for use in a peace-monitoring or
intelligence-gathering system and (2) as a short-range warhead deliv­
ery system. In 1971 the Office of Special Activities evaluated
AXILLARY flight-testing and determined that the small model air­
craft was not suitable for use as a covert reconnaissance vehicle be­
cause of its large radar cross secition and significant accoustical
signature. The aircraft's radar signature made it potentially useful as a
weapons systems, however. ORD suggested that AXILLARY be
equipped with a radar-homing unitE
which would
make it an inexpensive means for
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surface-to-air missile systems in North Vietnam. The Director of