There were two related projects. HAVE LEMON was an effort to develop an armed remotely piloted vehicle for enemy defense suppression missions. In March 1971, Teledyne Ryan began modification of four Model 234 drones to BGM-34A configuration with the capability to carry and launch the AGM-65 Maverick electro-optically guided missile that was also capable of telemetering video from the seeker head back to controllers as the missile locked onto its target. Using DC-130 aircraft as launch platforms, the 6514th Test Squadron conducted five captive carry flights to resolve interface problems between airborne subsystems, and 10 free flights. Two drones were lost in accidents before the system was deemed ready for the first live fire test.
A little more than nine months after the initial go-ahead, the system was successfully demonstrated with a direct hit against a simulated surface-to-air missile site. This was the first ever, direct hit scored by a missile launched from a remotely piloted vehicle. A week later, this feat was duplicated with the missile essentially flying through the hole made by the first missile. The controller was able to use the drone’s own TV camera to visually follow the weapon’s trajectory to impact and assess damage to the target.
HAVE LIME was a follow-on study that concentrated on the high-threat defense suppression scenario and the identification of key factors for countering this threat through the use of standoff weaponry. Using the earlier HAVE LEMON Defense Suppression Program as a departure point, HAVE LIME was chartered to take a longer-term look at defense suppression from a total system point of view. The scope of the study encompassed the problem of defense suppression in general, system design goals based on a thorough analysis of target characteristics, and survivability of missiles and drones in the postulated threat environment. The HAVE LIME team developed weapon, command and control, and surveillance concepts to meet design goals.In February 1972 the BGM-34A was again used to repeatedly strike a target, this time with a Stubby HOBOS electro-optical glide bomb guided by an integral autopilot.
