Museum 
The explosion of an SA-2 Surface to Air Missile photographed by a Model 147 drone. The SA-2 had a profound impact on post-war Black aircraft development: it put the U2 overflights at risk, which led to the development of the A-12 Oxcart and D-21 Tagboard. U.S. Air Force 
The Model 147SC 'Tom Cat' flew a record-setting 68 missions before being lost on Sept. 25, 1974. (the average for the 147SC drones was 7.3 missions before being lost. Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical photo courtesy San Diego Aerospace Museum 
Model 154 drone on its handling cart at Edwards Air Force Base. It was designed for high — altitude photo reconnaissance of Communist China, but by the time the Model 154 was operational, these missions were halted, and the drones were scrapped without having ever made an overflight. U.S. Air Force 
The secret that fell from the sky. The Model 154P-4 Firefly after its landing at Los Alamos in August 1969. The drone was unharmed, but the accident was widely publicized and the Model 154 program was no longer 'Black.' Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical 
The D-21 501 on its B-52 launch aircraft. Lockheed 
D-21/M-21 combination in flight above Nevada. Lockheed 
The Have Blue 1002—produced under the tightest secrecy since the atomic bomb program of World War II— after final assembly at Burbank. This aircraft was optimized for RCS testing, and had the full range of coatings and radar absorbing materials. Lockheed 
The Have Blue 1002 above Groom Lake. Unlike its angular upper surface, the plane's underside was arrow shaped. These flat surfaces made it possible to calculate the plane's radar cross-section. Lockheed 
F-117A 780 as it was rolled out of its Groom Lake hangar before its first flight on June 18,1981. Activities at Groom Lake, such as the F-l 17A's first flight, are scheduled around the passes of Soviet reconnaissance satellites. Lockheed 
The Amber UAV was designed to provide a family of low-cost but effective vehicles capable of undertaking both reconnaissance and strike missions. General Atomics 
The GNAT 750 was originally designed to be a low-cost, long duration UAV suitable for export. It was used by the CIA to monitor the civil war over Bosnia. General Atomics 
B-2 Spirit above Edwards Air Force Base. During the late 1980s and early '90s, there were a number of reports about 'other' flying wing or triangular Black aircraft. These ranged from Shamu (a sub-scale B-2 test bed) and the TR-3A Black Manta (a reconnaissance aircraft) to an aircraft that, it was claimed, had wingspans of 600–800 feet. U.S. Air Force 
A strange plane in a strange land. A Soviet-built Yak 23 undergoing flight tests at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base. The plane was 'loaned' to the U.S. by an Eastern European intelligence officer, then crated aboard a U.S. C-124 cargo plane. The U.S. markings — the 'X-5' — were used as a cover. The eighth and final test flight was completed on Nov. 4, 1953. The markings were removed; the Yak was crated and reinserted into Eastern Europe without detection. U.S. Air Force 
The Tacit Blue in flight above Nevada. Long rumored to be a flying wing, it was, in fact, one of the strangest looking aircraft ever built. Its odd shape was to accommodate a specialized radar able to track armor units. The design also provided 'all-aspect' stealth. The Tacit Blue first flew in February 1982, but was not declassified until April 30, 1996. 
Artist's conception of a flock of Auroras. From top to bottom, the original 'Black Diamond,' the 'North Sea' Aurora, and finally, the XB-70 Aurora. The stories about the Aurora began to spread in the late 1980s and reached their peak in 1994. CHAPTER 9
The Return of Black Reconnaissance
HALSOL and the GNAT-750
With many calculations, one can win; with few one cannot… By this means I examine the situation and the outcome will be clearly apparent.
Sun Tzu ca. 400 B.C. Despite the end of the Model 147 and 154 reconnaissance drone programs, interest remained in what were now called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
Most of these were short-range, battlefield-support UAVs. But, just as stealth changed both tactical and strategic aircraft, it also caused a resurgence of interest in strategic reconnaissance UAVs. Two very different systems would emerge during the 1980s and early 1990s. They would also highlight the changing shades of Black.
One advantage of a UAV over a manned aircraft was that of flight duration. This had not been realized when the Model 147 and 154 drones were flown, but was central to the mission of the first of these new Black UAVs.
Its planned flight time would not be measured in hours or even days but in months. The technology to build the first of these Dark Eagles did not come from an exotic development program but from a contest.
GOSSAMER DREAMS In the myth of Icarus, a man had flown by flapping wings attached to his arms. Even with the achievement of heavier-than-air flight, the dream remained: to fly with only the power of one's own body. In 1959, British industrialist Henry Kremer offered a 50,000-pound prize for the first successful man-powered flight. It was to cover a figure-eight course around two markers a half mile apart. The aircraft had to start and finish the course at an altitude over ten feet.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, a number of man-powered aircraft tried for the Kremer Prize, but all were doomed to failure. They were of conventional design, fitted with chain-driven propellers. Principally made of wood, they were too heavy and incapable of turning.
One man realized what was needed. Dr. Paul B. MacCready of AeroVironment Incorporated understood that neither a conventional design nor conventional thinking would work. The Kremer Prize would take an innovative aircraft, designed with no preconceived notions.
The result was the Gossamer Condor. It had a long, tapered wing. Like the Wright Flier, it had a canard and wing warping to provide control. The pilot rode in a gondola suspended below the wing. The Gossamer Condor was
