DC-130 launches the drone and controls it up through helicopter recovery.
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DC-130 Drone Control Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
The Strategic Air Command had the DC-130s assigned to the 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing from 1966 throuigh 1976, when the 100th's drone assets were transferred to the 432nd Tactical Drone Group of the Tactical Air Command. The 100th was then re-designated as the 100th Air Refueling Wing.
Target or strike (weapons carriers) drones were carried on two pylons located under each wing: one between the engines and one on the outboard of the engines. This allowed the DC-130 to carry and control four drones simultaneously. These were never deployed operationally. Only reconnaissance and electric warfare types were used in the field.
DC-130 can launch, track and control the drones. The aircraft contained two launch stations (one for each drone) from which all systems on the drone were activated and checked. From those stations the engines were started, run through their checks and stabilized at the correct power setting for launch. A two-man station, just aft of the flight compartment, contained all the tracking and control functions. Instruments displayed all data transmitted from the drone?such as heading, speed, altitude, power setting and flight attitudes. Navigation and tracking data were fed to a system that plotted the current position of both the drone and DC-130 on a large map board in front of the operators. The planned track of the drone was drawn on the board, which enabled the crew to immediately detect any deviation in the drone's flight path. The drone controllers monitored and recorded video data from drones equipped with TV cameras and recorded any other data collected by other special-purpose drones.
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