The Handley Page HP.100 was a tendered submission to build a long-range, high-speed reconnaissance aircraft for the Royal Air Force, able to overfly Soviet territory in the face of anti-aircraft defences, and to supply information for the V bomber force carrying nuclear weapons.The operational requirement, OR.330, specified an unarmed radar-equipped aircraft capable of cruising in excess of Mach 2, able to reach Mach 3, and having a range of around 5,000 mi (8,050 km).