Eye in the Sky

In missile-age warfare, a military commander will have only minutes to launch his rockets before a target moves on--or attacks him first. Last week the Army Signal Corps announced an ingenious electronic device that will tell him whenever a target appears: the RP-71, a flying robot that can take off from a launching rig, spy on the enemy from altitudes up to 3,000 ft. at more than 200 m.p.h.

The prop-driven RP-71 radios back target data it picks up by radar or infra-red sensory equipment. Night targets are lighted by a series of 300,000-candle-power flares, recorded by a motion-picture camera. When its mission is accomplished, the drone can be parachuted to earth, reused time and again. "These little fellows have four obvious pluses for the field commander," says an Army droneman. "They require no take-off or landing strip; they are effective at night, when the enemy makes his important moves; they are easily recoverable; and they are pilotless --precious life is being preserved."

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