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Drones, Spyplanes and Surveillance Aircraft

Drones, Spyplanes and Surveillance Aircraft

Surveillance aircraft are military aircraft used for monitoring enemy activity, usually carrying no armament. This article concentrates on military aircraft used in this role, though a major civilian aviation activity is reconnaissance and ground surveillance for mapping, traffic monitoring, science, and geological survey. In addition, civilian aircraft are used in many countries for border surveillance, fishery patrols or the prevention of smuggling and illegal migration.

A surveillance aircraft does not necessarily require high-performance capability or stealth characteristics. It may in fact be a modified civilian aircraft which has been disguised in order to look harmless. Technically, anything which can fly and make observations (dynamically or via recording equipment/sensors) of visual information or electronic emissions qualifies as a surveillance aircraft.

Such efforts long predate the invention of heavier-than-air flight, with experiments using balloons to provide targeting information for artillery beginning in France in 1794. Continued attempts throughout the 19th Century proved militarily useless, but aerostat-based radar platforms are now in use.

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USAF Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft - 61-7972, Lt. Col. Raymond E. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph T. "JT" Vida, Senior Crown Flight, March 6th, 1990 USAF Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft - 61-7972, Lt. Col. Raymond E. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph T. "JT" Vida, Senior Crown Flight, March 6th, 1990 (1:200 Scale)

The Lockheed SR-71 was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, and called the Habu by its crews.

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USAAF North American LT-6G Texan Tactical Control Aircraft - X-524, "Night Train", 6148 Tactical Control Squadron (Airborne), LTA-542, Korea, 1953 USAAF North American LT-6G Texan Tactical Control Aircraft - X-524, "Night Train", 6148 Tactical Control Squadron (Airborne), LTA-542, Korea, 1953 (1:72 Scale)

The T-6 was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft designed by North American Aviation, used to train fighter pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II.

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USAF General Atomics MQ-1 Predator Drone USAF General Atomics MQ-1 Predator Drone (1:72 Scale)

The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Conceived in the early 1990s for aerial reconnaissance and forward observation roles, the Predator carries cameras and other sensors.

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US Navy Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System US Navy Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (1:72 Scale)

The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) designed for carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and is now part of the United States Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program.

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RAAF Lockheed F-4-1-LO Lightning Photo Reconnaissance Plane - 1st Photo Reconnaissance Unit, 1943 RAAF Lockheed F-4-1-LO Lightning Photo Reconnaissance Plane - 1st Photo Reconnaissance Unit, 1943 (1:72 Scale)

It was fast, heavily armed and extremely versatile. And many believe the Lockheed P-38 Lightning  to be the finest American fighter of WWII. Its low-drag, aerodynamic shape and heavy weight enabled this twin-engine, twin-boomed aircraft to accelerate to high speeds faster than any previous warplane, making it a potent fighter and a superb fighter-bomber.

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USAF Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft USAF Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft (1:72 Scale)

The Lockheed SR-71 was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, and called the Habu by its crews.

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USAF Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft - 61-17974 USAF Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft - 61-17974 (1:72 Scale)

The Lockheed SR-71 was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, and called the Habu by its crews.

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USAF Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft - 61-17980 USAF Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft - 61-17980 (1:72 Scale)

The Lockheed SR-71 was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, and called the Habu by its crews.

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US Navy Grumman F9F-2P Panther Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft - VC-61 "Eyes of the Fleet", PP/154, Look, USS Essex (CV-9), 1951 US Navy Grumman F9F-2P Panther Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft - VC-61 "Eyes of the Fleet", PP/154, "Look", USS Essex (CV-9), 1951 (1:48 Scale)

The Grumman F9F Panther was the manufacturer's first jet fighter and the U.S. Navy's second. The Panther was the most widely used U.S. Navy jet fighter of the Korean War. It flew 78,000 sorties and was responsible for the first air kill by the US Navy in the war - the downing of a North Korean Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter.

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