The BQM-34F was a target drone used for target practice by U. S. fighter pilots.Ú The drone was launched from the ground at Tyndall AFB, Florida, and ground controlled to ranges over the Gulf of Mexico.Ú Prior to flight, the fire control system in the fighter aircraft would be alerted to a specified degree, thereby creating an offset bull's eye.Ú The pilot would use all normal procedures for aiming and firing his weapons.Ú The BQM-34F had electronic equipment aboard which would measure the results of the fired projectile in relation to the offset bull's-eye point.Ú This procedure usually allowed the drone to continue. Ú However, should the pilot fail to hit the bull's eye, the drone might be destroyed.
At the completion of the training mission, ground control would guide the drone to a desired area and turn its engine off.Ú A parachute would deploy, lowering the drone safely into the water.Ú Once down, it would be recovered by an Air Force recovery crew so that it could be flown another day.
The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center assumed logistics management responsibility for the BQM-34F in 1965 after the Middletown Air Materiel Area at Olmstead AFB, Pennsylvania, was closed.
