San Diego’s Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical Company started building the Firebee drone series in for the United States Air Force in 1951, and not only were they some of the first jet-propelled drones built, they were also some of the most widely used target drones. The BQM-34F Firebee II first flew in 1972 and remained in service until 1990. Its primary purpose was to provide a realistic aerial target that simulated the performance of advanced high-speed enemy aircraft, and it also aided in research and development of surface-to-air and air-to-air weapon systems. It could fly at speeds of Mach 1.5 for up to 75 minutes and could also fly down to 50 feet above level terrain. Our Firebee II was built in 1970 and was donated to the museum in 1980 by Teledyne Ryan.