In June 1963, the RP-71 drones of the AN/USD-1A and AN/USD-1B surveillance systems were designated as MQM-57B, respectively. The MQM-57 remained in service until the mid-1970's, and a total of about 1500 MQM-57's of all versions were built by Northrop Ventura (formerly Radioplane).

Specifications

Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!

Data for MQM-57 A/B:

Length 4.06 m (13 ft 4 in)
Wingspan 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in)
Height 0.79 m (2 ft 7 in)
Weight 195 kg (430 lb)
Speed 300 km/h 185 mph)
Ceiling 4600 m (15000 ft)
Endurance 40 min.
Range 160 km (100 miles)
Propulsion McCulloch O-100-1 piston engine; 54 kw (72 hp)

Northrop (Radioplane) SD-1MQM-57 Falconer

In 1955, Radioplane developed the Model RP-71 Falconer as a derivative of the QQ-19/MQM-33 series of target drones. The drone was launched by a solid rocket booster from a zero-length launcher, and was recovered by parachute. The RP-71 had onboard still picture (and optional TV) cameras, and was used by the U.S. Army as a surveillance drone of the AN/USD-1 system. The drone itself was officially designated OA-2343/USD-1, but was usually referred to as either AN/USD-1 (although this was really the designation of the whole drone surveillance syster, including ground equipment) or SD-1 (as an abbreviation of AN/USD-1, with SD conveniently being interpreted as "Surveillance Drone"). Series production of the SD-1 for the U.S. Army started in 1959.

Equipment of the SD-1 included a KS-54 orKS-61 camera system (including a KA-39A or KA-30 still picture camera, respectively), flare ejectors, and an AN/DPN-32 (later AN/DPN-62(V)) radar beacon. The SD-1 was tracked on the ground using the AN/MPQ-29 radar system. There were two different models of the SD-1 (one for the AN/USD-1A system, and one for the AN/USD-1B), which differed slightly in the electronic guidance equipment. The AN/USD-1A drone used an R-943/USD-1A receiver, while the AN/USD-1B had an R-1220/USD-1B receiver and a KY-500/USD-1B decoder.