Three view drawing of a two place A-7H with a Ryan BGM-34A carried under the left wing. This was drawn in February 1972 not long after the first successful tests of launching AGM-65A Maverick missiles from the BGM-34A platform. Given the mounting arrangement for the AGM-65 on the BGM-34 there would have been little ground clearance of the missile fins upon aircraft rotation. It also can be easily imagined that a fuel tank or inert bomb would have to be carried on the right side to help balance the aircraft until drone launch.
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| Courtesy VAHF |
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| Courtesy VAHF |
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| Courtesy VAHF |
Just for visual representation of the Ryan AQM/BQM-34 family, a BQM-34S photographed in 2004 is presented below.
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| BQM-34S-NAS-Point-Mugu-BillSpidle-20040812 |
Later on in the Corsair II's life the EA-7L was given the capability to carry and launch BQM-74C target drones to simulate aggressor aircraft or missiles. The EA-7L was only able to start the engine and launch the drone. The crew could not change the pre-programmed flight profile for the target. Below is a BQM-74E representative of the BQM-74 series.
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| BQM-74E NAS Point Mugu BillSpidle 20040812 |
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