alt=The black and yellow missile sits on display overlooking desert and mountains of New Mexico|thumb|A Lockheed X-7 on public display in New Mexico
The Lockheed X-7 (dubbed the "Flying Stove Pipe") is an American unmanned test bed of the 1950s for ramjet engines and missile guidance technology. It was the basis for the later Lockheed AQM-60 Kingfisher, a system used to test American air defenses against nuclear missile attack.
Early development
Development of the Kingfisher was first initiated in December 1946. The X-7 was called into production by the United States Air Force requirement for the development of an unmanned ramjet test plane with a top speed of at least .
The X-7 project was developed under the AMC designator MX-883 and was given in the Lockheed in-house designation L-171. The L-171 was initially designated the PTV-A-1 by the USAF but was later designated the X-7 in 1951. A total of 130 X-7 flights were conducted from April 1951 to July 1960. During the testing of the SAMs, the X-7 outperformed the missiles and a very small number of critical hits were achieved.
Launch and recovery
thumb|Lockheed X-7 buried nose down in the desert
The X-7 was launched at speed release from the underside of either a B-29 or B-50 carrier plane. The jet would then take over and build up speed to its top speed of , but was later redesigned to push .
thumb|X-7A on display at the Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum
Specifications of X-7A-1
- Length:
- Wingspan:
- Height:
- Diameter:
- Weight:
- Speed: (Maximum speed: