556th Test and Evaluation Squadron The 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit . It is assigned to the 53d Test and Evaluation Group , Detachment . 4 at Creech Air Force Base , Nevada . Overview . The 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron is the Air Force ' s first operational test squadron for unmanned aircraft . It provides support to UAS operations worldwide , through force development evaluations , the development of training , tactics and procedures , systems expertise and meeting warfighters ' urgent need requests . History . The 556th designation was reactivated by Air Combat Command for its current mission due to its lineage and long history of surveillance and intelligence - gathering . World War II . Established in mid - 1942 as a photographic mapping squadron , being formed at Colorado Springs AAB . Components of the squadron deployed to England for combat training by the Royal Air Force ; remainder of squadron received aircraft and ground training in Oklahoma . Deployed to Algeria in early December 1942 as part of Operation Torch invasion forces , squadron becoming main source of aerial intelligence for Twelfth Air Force in North African Campaign . Supported United States Fifth Army in its drive across Algeria and during the Tunisian Campaign , 1942 – 1943 . Flew air reconnaissance and mapping missions over Sicily and Southern Italy prior to Allied invasions during 1943 . Reassigned to Fifteenth Air Force in December 1943 , flying numerous long distance reconnaissance flights over the Balkans ; Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany , photographing targets for later attack by Fifteenth Air Force and Twelfth Air Force bombers . Squadron obtained intelligence about enemy fortifications , armored units , infantry concentrations and other tactical intelligence . These flights were extremely hazardous , being flown without escort and in unarmed aircraft . Squadron gradually demobilized after the German Capitulation ; inactivated in Italy in the fall of 1945 . Reactivated as a Tactical Air Command Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron in 1947 , being assigned to several groups , however funding and manpower shortages led to units inactivation , its assigned resources being merged into the senior 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in December 1947 . Vietnam War . 4025th Reconnaissance Squadron . The 4025th Reconnaissance Squadron was established by Strategic Air Command as a major command controlled ( MAJCON ) unit in the wake of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis at Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona . The unit was established after several losses of U - 2 reconnaissance planes over the USSR , China and Cuba forced the United States to find the ways of learning more about Soviet S - 172 / SA - 2 SAM systems . The squadron was used to develop unmanned reconnaissance drones for the USAF , for use on highly hazardous missions during the Cold War . The drones were named " Lightning Bug “ and " Compass Cookie “ . Both used Ryan Model 124 Firebee I for reconnaissance tasks and were initially planned for operations over Cuba . However , the situation there stabilized , thus the first unit equipped with Q - 2C Firebee ( later developed into AQM - 34 ) namely the squadron deployed to South Vietnam in 1966 and began flying operational missions over North Vietnam , looking for SAM - sites . Operating from Bien Hoa AB in South Vietnam the 4025th RS soon started monitoring the work of North Vietnamese air defences and - especially - the SA - 2 sites . Each mission was regularly escorted by either USAF or - in most cases - United States Navy fighters , as well as other specialized ( manned ) reconnaissance aircraft , such as RB - 47H Stratojet s of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing ( SRW ) for high altitude photo - reconnaissance , and - later - highly classified EB - 57 Canberra Electronic aggressor aircraft ( detached from Air Defense Command ) used for jamming North Vietnamese radars or C - 130A - II Hercules aircraft of the Pacific Air Forces 6091st Reconnaissance Squadron , deployed at Don Muang AB , in Thailand . 556th Reconnaissance Squadron . In 1968 the unit was reorganized as the 556th Reconnaissance Squadron , being formed from the SAC and PACAF organizations an official Air Force controlled ( AFCON ) squadron , being placed under the PACAF 347th Tactical Fighter Wing at Yokota AB , Japan . The squadron , however operated in a deployed status from Bien Hoa AB , South Vietnam . All the drones were carried and started from specially modified GC - 130As , MC - 130AS and - finally - DC - 130A and DC - 130E control aircraft , each of them being equipped with systems for carriage , start , control and guidance of drones . The drones were always pre - programmed , but after release their progress was monitored and the drone controller could override the programme manually if necessary . The carrier aircraft had a console for two controller pilots equipped with all the usual flight - instruments , which read the data sent to them from the drone . All the data about the navigation , planned route , the actual flight pad and position of the drone and the carrier aircraft were feed into a single system , which showed them on one display . On their return the drones deployed a parachute and were snared by specially modified HH - 3E recovery helicopters . From 1969 , first serious encounters with North Vietnamese MiG - 17 and MiG - 21 interceptors followed . In 1969 alone , North Vietnamese fighters - primarily MiG - 21s - were scrambled no less than 540 times in order to intercept drones , claiming to have shot down ten Firebees . NVAF MiGs did score 6 kills , and some were scored by Americans - and indirectly . In May 1970 , an AQM - 34 L was on a mission over Hanoi area , acting as a manned reconnaissance aircraft . Finishing its photo - run , the drone turned toward the Tonkin Gulf , where it was to ditch after spending its remaining fuel . Almost everything was going according to plan - down to one detail : the drone was intercepted by an MiG - 21 . The fighter closed and tried to shot it down by two K - 13 / AA - 2 Atoll air - to - air missiles . Both malfunctioned however , and the Vietnamese continued the pursuit , trying to down the drone by tackling its wing . By doing so , the NVAF pilot forgot to control his fuel reserves : after the drone fell harmlessly into the sea , his aircraft ran out of fuel . The NVAF pilot ejected while flying back toward the coast . This was the first air - to - air kill scored by an unmanned aircraft in the history of air warfare . In addition to the drone operations , the squadron received significant amounts of intelligence operating a RB - 57F Canberra from Yokota AB , Japan detached from the MAC 9th Weather Reconnaissance Wing at McClellan AFB , California . The RB - 57 provided very high altitude intelligence with regards to SA - 2 locations for mission planning with the Firebees . As part of the drawdown of United States forces from South Vietnam , the 556th was officially moved to Yokota AB , Japan in 1971 , although limited operations continued from Bien Hoa until 30 Jun 1972 when the squadron was inactivated .