Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug

The Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug was a drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, developed from the earlier Ryan Firebee target drone series.

In 1959, Ryan Aeronautical performed a study to investigate how the company's Firebee target drone could be used for long-range reconnaissance missions. Ryan engineers concluded they could increase the Firebee's range to allow it to fly south over the Soviet Union after launch from the Barents Sea, with recovery in Turkey. The Firebee has a low radar cross-section, making it hard to detect. With lengthened wings, the drone would also be able to fly at high altitude, further increasing its elusiveness. It could be launched by a Lockheed DC-130 Hercules, or JATO-boosted from a land site or ship.

Ryan presented its report on the studies to the US Air Force in mid-April 1960. Meanwhile, on 1 May 1960, an American Lockheed U-2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR, and its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, captured. On 1 July, a Boeing RB-47 reconnaissance aircraft flying an electronic intelligence mission in international airspace near the Soviet border was shot down. Four of its crew were killed and the other two captured. A few days later, the Air Force awarded Ryan a $200,000 USD contract to perform further studies. Ryan conducted radar measurements on sub-scale Firebee models and determined that their radar signature could be reduced by placing a wire screen over the jet intake; painting parts of the drone with non-conductive paint; and placing radar-absorbent material pads on both sides of the fuselage. Test flights of the modified Firebees were performed in September and October 1961. The flights were given a cover story, describing the drones as high-altitude targets for surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), in case one of them came down in a public area. The flights demonstrated that the modifications did not compromise the Firebee's performance.

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