Lockheed YO-3A “Quiet Star” In the tumultuous landscape of the late 1960s during the Vietnam War, the United States military found itself grappling with the challenge of surveilling elusive Viet Cong soldiers that were performing nighttime supply missions to South Vietnam. It was specifically for this task that the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), renowned for its innovative and experimental programs, embarked on a pioneering initiative – the creation of a “quiet aircraft” tailored specifically for nocturnal reconnaissance along the river in South Vietnam. The inaugural phase of this clandestine aerial surveillance project materialized in 1967 at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, CA. The brainchild of ARPA, the aircraft was named the “QT-2” and drew inspiration from unpowered gliders which possessed an unparalleled ability to traverse the sky like ninjas. The wingspan of the aircraft, based upon a Schweitzer SGS 2-32 sailplane, allowed it to s...
