Northrop Grumman Corporation BQM-34 Firebee High Performance Aerial Target System

Program Objective The Most Capable and Reliable High Performance Aerial Target System The primary mission of Firebee is to simulate tactical threats by enemy aircraft and missiles for defense readiness training, air-to-air combat training and the development and evaluation of weapons systems. It can fly as fast as Mach 0.97, at levels as low as 10 ft above the sea surface, or at altitudes as high as 60,000 ft. It is capable of performing seven-g turns while maintaining high airspeeds for realistic threat presentations. With its high-thrust engine, advanced microprocessor flight control system, rugged airframe, and wide assortment of mission augmentation systems, the BQM-34 Firebee is the premier high performance aerial target system in use today. It can be readily modified to meet other special tactical UAV mission needs. Such performance, with the ability to survive the hits and near misses of repeated missions and return to fly again, explains why the Firebee has been in constant use by two American military services for more than five decades. Today, the BQM-34 Firebee remains "The User's Choice," successfully meeting the most challenging training and test and evaluation mission requirements while continually demonstrating new tactical versatility.