CT20

The Nord CT.20 was a French-built target drone developed in the early 1950s by Nord Aviation, a subsidiary of the Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord. Conceived to provide realistic practice for anti‑aircraft artillery and surface‑to‑air missile crews, the CT.20 first flew in 1953 and entered service with the French Air Force in 1955. Its airframe was a low‑wing monoplane of all‑metal construction, equipped with a retractable wheeled undercarriage for runway launches and a rocket‑assisted catapult for field deployments. Powered by a 75‑horsepower horizontally opposed piston engine driving a two‑bladed propeller, the drone could reach speeds of up to 280 km/h and operate at altitudes of 3,500 meters for missions lasting up to 45 minutes. Control was achieved through radio‑command from a ground station, with a simple onboard autopilot that could execute pre‑programmed flight paths. The CT.20’s reliability, low operating cost, and ability to simulate a variety of threat profiles made it a benchmark for target drones throughout the Cold‑War era, influencing later French designs such as the Super‑CT.20 and contributing to the development of modern unmanned aerial systems.