In March 1948, following a series of meetings between members of the British Ministry of Supply and the Australian Department of Supply and Development, a specification was issued to cover the design and manufacture of a small high-speed pilotless aircraft for use in the guided weapon development program. This eventually culminated in the Jindivik. Initially six pilotless and two piloted aircraft were to be built, to be fitted with the Armstrong Siddeley Adder ASA.1 gas turbine engine which provided 1,050 lbst. This engine was a pure-jet development of the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba propeller turbine which powered the Fairey Gannet carrier-borne anti-submarine aircraft. Design work began at the Government Aircraft Factory (GAF) at Fishermen’s Bend, VIC, in the middle of 1948. The piloted machines became known as the Pika, an Aboriginal word meaning ‘flier’, and two were built. A mock-up of the aircraft was built and was placed on show at the Department of Supply stand at the Exhibition Building in Melbourne, VIC in about 1951. The manually piloted prototype had side air intakes (to make room for the cockpit) and retractable undercarriage operated from a pneumatic reservoir. The remotely-piloted version, the Jindivik, followed the same basic form except that it had a single skid instead of an undercarriage and a dorsal air intake located where the Pika's cockpit was. The Jindivik Mk.1 was powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Adder (ASA.1) turbojet, which had been developed as a disposable engine for the project. Only 14 Mk.1s were ever made. The Mk.2 was powered by a 7.3 kilonewtons (1,640 lbf) Armstrong Siddeley Viper engine. The Viper was also intended for a short lifespan – about 10 hours, but a "long life" version was also produced for conventional aircraft. The first prototype Pika after completion was assembled and had its engine run in October 1950 before being disassembled and conveyed by Bristol 170 Freighter on the 23rd to the Long Range Weapons Establishment (LRWE) at Woomera, SA where it was re-assembled and commenced taxiing trials. Known as Project C, trials commenced on 29 October 1950 with GAF test pilot John Miles, and a brief lift-off was planned for 31 October but the aircraft could not get airborne. An attempt was made with flaps and it lifted off at 185 km/h (115 mph) and flew 1,067 m (3,500 ft). A second flight was made but on 15 November, when another flight was made, undercarriage problems caused a wheels-up landing. Damage was not serious and the aircraft was quickly rebuilt. The prototype initially carried the serial C-1, and later A93-1. The second, C2 and later A93-2, followed some time later. Further flights were made without incident from 5 December 1950.
