The Rockair was first suggested by Hermann Oberth in his 1929 book Wege zur Raumschiffahrt.^[1] Rockair concepts were developed by both the United States Air Force and Navy, both generally finding marginal use in the concept.^[1] The Air Force began studying the concept of an air-launched sounding rocket in 1947, while the Navy managed to get the first launch in August 16, 1955 using an F2H2 off of Wallops Island. The folded-fin aerial rocket(FFAR)^[1][2] reached an altitude of 54,864m (180,000 ft). The Air Force followed up with their first air-launched sounding rocket concept on December 13, 1956, under the name "Rockaire".^[3] A Deacon rocket was used, launched from a F-86 fighter aircraft.

The Navy Rockair had a total of 5 launches, while the Air Force Rockaire had a total of 4 for a combined 9 launches.

According to a NASA historical summary,^[1] no important scientific research was every carried out with the Rockair concept. It had very little popularity, in contrast to the "Rockoon" which was launched in the hundreds during the 1950s.