Interstate TDR The Interstate TDR was an early unmanned combat aerial vehicle — referred to at the time as an " assault drone " — developed by the Interstate Aircraft and Engineering Corporation during the Second World War for use by the United States Navy . Capable of being armed with bombs or torpedoes , 2000 aircraft were ordered , but only around 200 were built . The type saw some service in the Pacific Theater against the Japan ese , but continuing developmental issues affecting the aircraft , along with the success of operations using more conventional weapons , led to the decision being made to cancel the assault drone program in October 1944 . Design and development . In 1936 , Lieutenant Commander Delmar S . Fahrney proposed that unpiloted , remotely controlled aircraft had potential for use by the United States Navy in combat operations . Due to the limitations of the technology of the time , development of the " assault drone " project was given a low priority , but by the early 1940s the development of the radar altimeter and television made the project more feasible , and following trials using converted manned aircraft , the first operational test of a drone against a naval target was conducted in April 1942 . That same month , following trials of the Naval Aircraft Factory TDN assault drone , Interstate Aircraft received a contract from the Navy for two prototype and 100 production aircraft to a simplified and improved design , to be designated TDR - 1 . Control of the TDR - 1 would be conducted from either a control aircraft , usually a TBF Avenger , with the operator viewing a tv screen showing the view from a camera mounted aboard the drone , and with the radar altimeter ' s readout also displayed . Powered by two Lycoming O - 435 engines of each , the TDR - 1 used a remarkably simple design , with a steel - tube frame constructed by the Schwinn bicycle company covered with a molded wood skin , thus making little use of strategic materials so as not to impede production of higher priority aircraft . Capable of being optionally piloted for test flights , an aerodynamic fairing was used to cover the cockpit area during operational missions . The TDR - 1 was equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear , that on operations would be jettisoned following takeoff for improved performance . Operational history . Under the code - name Operation Option , the Navy projected that up to 18 squadrons of assault drones would be formed , with 162 TBF Avenger control aircraft and 1000 assault drones being ordered . However technical difficulties in the development of the TDR - 1 , combined with a continued low priority given to the project , saw the contract modified with the order reduced to only around 300 aircraft . A single TDR - 1 was tested by the U . S . Army Air Forces as the XBQ - 4 , however no production contract resulted from this testing . In 1944 , under the control of the Special Air Task Force ( SATFOR ) , the TDR - 1 was deployed operationally to the South Pacific for operations against the Japanese . TDR - 1 aircraft equipped a single mixed squadron ( Special Air Task Group 1 ) along with TBM Avenger control aircraft , and the first operational mission took place on September 27 , conducting bombing operations against Japanese ships . Despite this success , the assault drone program had already been canceled after the production of 189 TDR - 1 aircraft , due to a combination of continued technical problems , the aircraft failing to live up to expectations , and the fact that more conventional weaponry was proving adequate for the defeat of Japan . The final mission was flown on October 27 , with 50 drones having been expended on operations , 31 aircraft successfully striking their targets , without loss to the pilots of STAG - 1 . Following the war , some TDR - 1s were converted for operation as private sportsplanes . Aircraft on display . A single example of the TDR - 1 survives , and is on display at the U . S . Navy ' s National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola , Florida . Variants and operators . United States Navy