Birds aren't real, and nuclear powered drones from the 60s and 70s are.
The CIA worked on developing bird-sized UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) to run surveillance over hostile territories
It’s a bird! It’s a plane!
Nope… it’s both.
If you have trust issues with birds, this True Conspiracy might not be for you.
Official Name
Project Aquiline - A secret CIA program to create bird-looking drones for surveillance of enemies.
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Conspiracy Description
Since there were too many vulnerabilities surrounding the U-2 and more advanced aircraft were still in development, the CIA was looking for a more anonymous way to collect surveillance. Their proposed solution was a small, low-footprint unmanned aerial vehicle that would evade radar, infrared, visual, and other detection techniques.
Project Aquiline was this attempt that morphed from a rudimentary gas-engine vehicle to a vision of a nuclear-powered multi-payload vehicle. The ultimate goal was to let the craft stay in the air for 30 days and be able to carry all types of sensors and payloads. It was to be used specifically with missions in the USSR, China, and Cuba.
The Details
In the 1960s, the CIA opened up bidding for a secret project to create surveillance drones that weren’t easily visible to the naked eye or by radar equipment. Only one company (Douglas Aircraft aka McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company) submitted a bid, and therefore won the contract.
Now that’s an easy ticket to the gravy train. 🚂
Douglas Aircraft got to work immediately, developing a prototype that used chainsaw engines
The plan was to:
Build these UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) (1969)
Set up communication infrastructure for data (1970-1971)
Have 2 mobile operations teams and 1 fixed operation team run 10 missions per year (1971-1974)
The project actually ended up running successful tests and was even transferred to Area 51 for further development. Some declassified documents even detail the 20+ person team’s transportation budget and methods back and forth from Area 51 to Long Beach and Las Vegas 🎰.
First tests pegged the prototype at an 130 mile range, high-resolution photography, and difficult to track. Even pilots who were supposed to follow the aircraft during flight kept losing it, so they had to paint bright colors on it to help out.
But the good news didn’t last for too long. After estimates that the project would take $30 million or more to develop it into its operational form, the project was scrapped.
And then everyone was free to talk about the cool project that they worked on!
Just kidding.
The phaseout document was quite restrictive. It basically said that “you don’t tell no one nothing, capisce?” Take a look here if you’re interested in that verbiage.
What This Means
The CIA and possibly other branches of the military never stopped drone development. And they definitely didn’t stop trying to make these drones look like animals. It took nearly 50 years to declassify this 1960s attempt at bird-drones. So there’s no doubt they’ve advanced the technology since then.
But don’t take our word for it, take a peek at these photos of recently crashed equipment in Pakistan and Iraq:
There’s a pretty good chance that there are complex drones in our skies right now that would pass for animals, even at close inspection. If we combine the facts that energy technologies, computing technologies, and robotic technologies have all become more powerful while getting smaller, then our imagination can tell us what is probably out there today.
Here’s a vague admission straight from the horse’s (bird’s?) mouth:
While it never became operational, the concept proved invaluable as a forerunner to today's multi-capability UAVs. - CIA
So the the project turned out to be a great success and total failure!
Other Crazy Stuff
Links below to some wild stuff we came across while writing this article.
Robofish - robotic fish that swim like regular fish but also have tracking capabilities.
Robofly - a robotic insect that you definitely would never recognize.
BYEMAN - a security control system the National Reconnaissance Office used for a longggg time. You’ll find it mentioned in certain declassified documents by the CIA.