BQM-34A (Q-2C) Firebee with trailer

In the late 1950s, the USAF awarded Ryan a contract for a greatly improved "second generation" Firebee, the Model 124, originally designated Q-2C. The initial prototype made its first flight in late 1958 and went into production in 1960. In 1963 it was redesignated BQM-34A. The old first-generation KDA-1 and KDA-4 targets, then still flying with the Navy, received (somewhat confusingly) the corresponding AQM-34B and AQM-34C designation changes.

The BQM-34A evolved into the Firebee, as it is known today, with a larger body, longer wings, and a special "chin" type air intake under the pointed nose (as opposed to the round air intake of the first generation Firebees). It was powered by a Continental J69-T-29A turbojet, a copy of the improved Marbore-derived Turbomeca Gourdon, with 1,700 lbf (7.6 kN) of thrust. The US Navy also adopted the BQM-34A, while the Army received a land-based version of the MQM-34D with longer wings and a heavier JATO booster.

A feature of the second generation Firebee