Project AQUILINE

Overview

Project AQUILINE was a secret 1960s CIA program to develop an unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle. In mid-1965 the CIA's Office of Research and Development's Applied Physics Division began work on the vehicle. It would be about the size of a large bird and carry various payloads, including photographic equipment, nuclear sensors, and ELINT recorders. A Special Projects Group was formed and an RFP was sent out. Douglas Aircraft was the only respondent and received a study contract on November 15, 1965. This was followed by two more contracts on November 21, 1966 and more in 1968 and 1969 for a "low-altitude intelligence-gathering system".