CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE

The Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance (CSNR) is an independent National 

Reconnaissance Office (NRO) research body reporting to the Director, Business Plans and 

Operations. The CSNR’s primary mission is to advance and shape the Intelligence Community’s 

understanding of the discipline, practice, and history of national reconnaissance. Through 

evidence-based social scientific and historical research the center makes available information 

that can provide NRO leadership with the analytic framework and historical context to make 

effective policy and programmatic decisions. The CSNR accomplishes its mission by chronicling 

the past, analyzing the present, identifying lessons for the future, and recognizing models of 

excellence that are timeless.

Contact Information: To contact the CSNR, please phone us at 

703-227-9368 or e-mail us at csnr@nro.mil

The Southern Museum of Flight. 

The Southern Museum of Flight is located just two blocks 

east of the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International 

Airport at 4343 73rd Street North, Birmingham, AL 

35203. The Southern Museum of Flight is dedicated to 

investigating, preserving and promoting the rich stores of 

Southern Aviation and to providing exciting interactive 

educational programming for people of all ages. 

Through collaborative partnerships with the community, 

the Southern Museum of Flight provides a continuum 

of exhibitions, displays, and educational services with 

sincere devotion to cultural and historical literacy. 

Founded in 1966, the Southern Museum of Flight is one of the largest aviation 

museums in the Southeast. The museum’s collection includes over 100 aircraft, 

as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs and paintings. In addition, 

the Southern Museum of Flight is home to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame 

with over 70 biographical plaques presenting Alabama Aviation History through 

collective biography.

National Reconnaissance Office

Office of Public Affairs

14675 Lee Road

Chantilly, VA 20151-1715 

Phone: 703-808-5050 (Open during normal business hours)

Email: publicaffairs@nro.mil

For information about the National Reconnaissance Office visit: 

http://www.NRO.gov

Information about the D-21 Drone may be found on:

http://www.nro.gov/history/index.html

and

http://www.nro.gov/foia/declass/collections.html

Follow NRO on FaceBook and Twitter.
Ms. Trisha Aquintey

Chief, Recognition, Exhibits, & Outreach (REO) & NRO Senior Curator

Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance (CSNR)

Business Plans and Operations Directorate (BPO)

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

Ms. Cynthia Allman

Chief, Information Review & Release Group (IRRG)

Information Management Services Office (IMSO)

Communications Systems Directorate (COMM)

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

Ms. Gloria King

Executive Officer

Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance (CSNR)

Business Plans and Operations Directorate (BPO)

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

Dr. Robert A. McDonald

Director Emeritus, Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance 

Business Plans and Operations Directorate (BPO)

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

Dr. James Outzen

Deputy Director, Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance 

(DDCSNR) & Senior NRO Historian

Business Plans and Operations Directorate (BPO)

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

Mr. Patrick Widlake

Chief, Research, Studies, & Analysis (RSA) & Chief Research Officer

Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance (CSNR)

Business Plans and Operations Directorate (BPO)

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

In the 1960s the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO’s) 

“Program D”—a joint Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and 

U.S. Air Force (USAF) program office—was developing and 

experimenting with unpiloted reconnaissance aircraft. The D-21 

program was an activity from that period that foreshadowed 

what was to become a proliferation of unpiloted aircraft 

in the 21st century. The D-21 was a high performance, 

advanced, unpiloted reconnaissance system, testing the limits 

of technology of the time. It initially was carried and launched 

from a modified A-12 CIA high-performance reconnaissance 

aircraft and then later from a modified USAF B-52. The D-21 

could fly at 90,000 feet and reach a speed of over Mach 3.3 

with a range of over 3,000 miles. The NRO terminated the 

program in July 1971. The D-21 has an amazing story set in 

the early days of the Cold War when it tested the limits of the 

technology of its time as it experimented with a way to collect 

reconnaissance imagery over denied territory.

AGENDA

Introduction: 

Dr. Robert A. McDonald

(What is this story of creativity and risk?)

Historical Context:

Dr. James D. Outzen

(How does the D-21 fit into the story of the Cold War?)

Recollections and Lessons:

Mr. Patrick Widlake

(What do we recall, and what did we learn?)

NRO’s D-21B Artifact:

Ms. Trisha Aquintey

(What is the story behind #538 and 539?)

New D-21 Secrets Revealed:

Ms. Cynthia Allman

(What has the NRO just declassified?)

A Home for NRO’s D-21B Artifact:

Ms. Gloria King

(Why Birmingham?)

Conclusion:

Dr. Robert A. McDonald

(What is the legacy of the D-21?)

D-21 DRONE PRESENTERS