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Soviet Air Defense Forces
The MiG-17 'Fresco' air targets
at the 18th Air Defense Training Center in the seventies.

USSR M-17 Target Drone

The Soviet Air Defence used subsonic M-15 (MiG-15) 'Fagot', M-17 (MiG-17) 'Fresco' and M-28 (IL-28) 'Beagle' absolute realistic airborne targets too during the Cold War in the Training Center.

The withdrawn MiG-17 'Fresco' aircraft were converted to remotely controlled targets. The conversion took place in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. The transformed MiG-17 aircraft was renamed to M-17M, M-17MM and M-17MNV.

The M-17 drone featured a large belly and dorsal tray on the fuselage to store control avionics, as well as a number of other antenna fairings at different locations, example on the air brake. And all weapons were removed.

The Soviet 18th Air Defense Training Center used a large number M-17M and M-17MNV model in the seventies.
 

USSR M-17 Target Drone
USSR M-17 Target Drone
USSR M-17 Target Drone
USSR M-17 Target Drone

M-17M ‘Fresco’ early target at the 18th Air Defense Training Center in the late seventies.

Soviet M-17 Target Drone
Soviet M-17 Target Drone
Soviet M-17 Target Drone
Soviet M-17 Target Drone

Advanced M-17MM remotely controlled targets in the late seventies

Photos: Vladimir Harolin, Alexandr Grebenjuk collection