Lockheed D-21 Drone

The Lockheed D-21 was a Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone that began development in October 1962. Originally known by the Lockheed designation Q-12, it was intended to be launched off the back of the A-12 for extra-long or very dangerous missions. The A-12 variant developed to launch the D-21 drone was designated the M-21. The D-21 was designed to carry its single high-resolution photographic camera over a pre-programmed location, then drop the camera module into the ocean, where it could be retrieved.