Fairey's involvement in missile production was kept separate from Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd. and its subsequent takeover by the Westland Group in 1960. Production was therefore invested in Fairey Engineering Ltd., but by 1962 this had been transformed into a 50/50 joint venture with British Aircraft Corporation (Holdings) Ltd., known as BAC (AT) LTD., with offices at 100 Pall Mall, London SW1, and a capital £100 social. This company was independent of the Guided Weapons division of BAC.
The Fairey company was also involved in the early development of pilotless aircraft, which led to the development of radio-controlled target aircraft in Britain and the United States in the 1930s. In 1931, the Fairey "Queen" radio-controlled target was developed, with a batch of three examples being manufactured. The Queen was a modified Fairey IIIF flying boat (a catapult-launched aircraft used for reconnaissance by the British Royal Navy). In addition to the installation of radio equipment, the Queen also had some aerodynamic modifications to improve stability. However, the first pilotless flights ended quickly, as the drones crashed upon takeoff from the catapult of HMS Valiant.
In 1960, Fairey announced an agreement between Fairey Engineering Ltd and Del Mar Engineering Laboratories, Los Angeles, California, to distribute a range of subsonic and supersonic towed target systems (RADOP) for air-to-air and surface-to-air guided weapons training in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Commonwealth and the United Kingdom.
Parent company Fairey and its Australian subsidiary were actively involved in the development of guided weapons. The Fairey Engineering Ltd. Armament Division was responsible in the United Kingdom for the unmanned target *Jindivik Mk 2B").
The "Fairey V.T.O." It was a vertical takeoff delta wing aircraft designed to explore the possibility of building an aircraft that would take off from short ramps with low acceleration. First presented at the Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) exhibition in 1952, the Fairey VTO project was used to test the basic configuration of future research aircraft. Each wing had a large aileron and the vertical empennage housed a large rudder. The VTO obtained 4.0 kN of thrust from each Beta nozzle and, for launch, two solid fuel boosters of 2.7 kN each were used, bringing the total thrust to 13 kN, obviously higher than the total weight. The Beta I rocket had two boosters, one of which could pivot laterally and the other vertically, according to signals from an autopilot. In this way, the resulting average thrust line could be varied to maintain controlled flight at low airspeeds. Fairey conducted numerous successful tests, the first of which was conducted from a ship in Cardigan Bay in 1949.
Fairey Rocket Test Vehicle 1, formerly known as LOPGAP (Liquid Oxygen and Gasoline Guided Anti-Aircraft Projectile). The original design dates back to the 1944 Royal Navy specification for a guided anti-aircraft missile known as LOPGAP. In 1947, the Royal Aircraft Establishment took over development and the missile was renamed RTV1. Several versions of the basic RTV1 were developed.
Fairey Aviation Company of Australasia Pty Ltd was awarded a contract to build 40 RTV1e rockets. The first were completed in early 1954. Components were built by the Royal Australian Navy Torpedo Establishment (servo-hydraulic units), EMI (receivers and guidance amplifiers) and the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (magnesium castings). Some parts were also imported from the United Kingdom. Assembly was carried out in Salisbury, South Australia, by Fairey's Special Projects Division. Test firing took place between 1955 and 1956, but by then the RTV1 was considered obsolete. The RTV1e was the beam guidance test vehicle. Radar guidance was provided by a radar unit that projected a narrow beam. Different versions of the test vehicle were created, each dealing with a different aspect of the control, guidance, propulsion and aerodynamics of the entire rocket. The RTV 1e was a two-stage liquid fuel rocket used for research and development of problems associated with beam-guided missiles. It was fired at an angle of 35 degrees and reached a maximum altitude of about 3650 m. The vehicle was launched by seven solid rocket boosters with a burn duration of four seconds, after which the liquid-fuel sustainment engine took over.
At the 1954 Farnborough Air Show, Fairey Australia displayed a massive missile similar to the RTV1. The base consisted of an acceleration unit approximately 6 feet high and 20 inches in diameter, stabilized by four large and four small fins, and housing seven five-inch motors. The main body was approximately 17 feet long with a diameter of 10 inches. The body was equipped with four wings and four small control vanes.
Fairey Australia also displayed an aerodynamic test vehicle, described as a "three-inch winged projectile". This was a simple, unguided projectile to facilitate investigations into the properties of various wing and body assemblies at high supersonic speeds. The specimen shown was about 6 inches in length and had a finely finished body, painted white, apparently made of seamless tubing. About two-thirds of the distance from the nose, a laminated wooden wing of about 60 cm span was installed, placed transversely to the body diameter, with a root chord of about 45 cm and a quarter-chord curvature of about 50 degrees.
In April 1947, Fairey published details of his first guided missile. It was an anti-aircraft weapon designed for the Pacific War (1937–1945), but was not completed in time for use by the British Army (which originally commissioned it) or the British Royal Navy. The Ministry of Supply requested the termination of the project, and the result was the Stooge. It had a length of 2.27 m, a wingspan of 2.08 m, a body diameter of 17 inches and a weight of 335 kg, with a warhead. Propulsion was four main solid-fuel rockets of 330 N thrust, but initially four additional booster rockets of 5600 lb thrust accelerated the Stooge from its ramp. Unlike later designs, the Stooge was designed for high subsonic speeds and limited ranges. The Stooge required a launch and transport ramp.
The Malkara missile was designed in Australia by British and Australian companies. It was a heavy wire-guided missile, deployed from vehicles, light naval vessels and fixed sites. This weapon replaced the Fairey "Orange William" project for the Ministry of Defence, which would later give rise to the Swingfire. Fairey Engineering was the sales agency for all countries outside the United States and was also appointed by the Australian Department of Supply to assist in the introduction of the Malkara into operational service and in the design and production of modifications. The missile was in service with the Royal Armored Corps, deployed on a special vehicle, the Humber Hornet, manufactured by Wharton Engineering, which carried two projectiles in launchers and two stowed projectiles. The Hornet could be air-launched and had a crew of three. For training purposes, the Malkara Mk I was used, with a range of about 2000 m. The operational weapon was the Malkara Mk 1 A, which had a different type of tracking flare, a thinner guide wire and other improvements to provide approximately twice the range of the Mk 1.
The Fairey Fireflash was one of the first radar-guided air-to-air weapons. Developed as the "Blue Sky", a scaled-down version of the Red Hawk missile, it saw service briefly before being replaced by the de Havilland Firestreak.
The Green Cheese was a tactical nuclear anti-ship missile for the Gannet. Problems with the Gannet led to continued development with the Blackburn Buccaneer, but it was cancelled.