BQM-34A (Q-2C) Firebee with trailer
ICM48401
ICM
1:48
(matching the post-war Invader family from ICM)
100% new molds
- Scale 1:48
- Dimensions (built): Length 146 mm / Wingspan 81 mm
- 36 parts
- 4 marking options
- not built, not painted
- Paint and glue not included
The BQM-34A emerged as the Firebee as it is recognized today, with a bigger airframe, longer wings, and a particular “chin”-type inlet under a pointed nose (in contrast to the circular intake of the first-generation Firebees). It was powered by a Continental J69-T-29A turbojet, a copy of the improved Turbomeca Gourdon derivative of the Marbore, with 1,700 lbf (7.6 kN) thrust. The U.S. Navy also adopted the BQM-34A, while the Army obtained a ground-launched version designated MQM-34D with longer wings and a heavier JATO booster.
A feature of the second-generation Firebee is that some photographs show it to with triangular endplates on the tailplane, while others show no endplates but feature a ventral fin under the tail, and still others have neither endplates nor ventral fin. Since most modern hotographs of Firebees show the ventral fin, this may have been due to production changes or later refits (reference sources are unclear on this).
In 1960 the first stealth technology development program was initiated by USAF, by reducing the radar cross-section of a Q-2C drone. This was achieved through specially designed screens over the air intake, radiation-absorbent material on the fuselage and a specialradar-absorbing paint.
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