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And drones played an important—and today largely unheralded—role in the bloody, two-decade U.S. air war over Vietnam and surrounding countries in the 1960s and ’70s.
Big Safari would continue to work on reconnaissance drones during the Vietnam War, and would also assist UAV programs in later wars. The new reconnaissance drones were designated Model 147A and codenamed Fire Fly. Specifications dictated a 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometres) range and a cruise altitude of 55,000 feet (17 km).
The largest UAVs in Vietnam were the 147T, TE, and TF (Military model AQM-34P, 34Q, and 34R). These machines were 30' long, and had 32' wing spans, with 2,800 lb thrust engines. These flew 28, 268, and 216 combat sorties respectively; of which 23 AQM-34Q drones were lost, AQM-34R machines were destroyed, and 6 AQM-34P models never made it home ...
The first use of armed UAVs was in 2001, in which an MQ-1 Predator was used to carry anti-tank missiles into Afghanistan, controlled by the Central Intelligence Agency. [2] Until 2006, flight hours by UAVs were not logged, though the DoD now states that millions of UAV flight hours have been logged. [3]
The Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug reconnaissance drone was enjoying success in Vietnam in the early 1960s, but it lacked the range to fly deep into China and back out again. . In particular, the Chinese nuclear development facility at Lop Nor was far out of reach of the Lightning Bugs, and was barely within reach of the Lockheed U-2 spyplane, which had become far too vulnerable to SA
Among fixed-wing aircraft, more F-4 Phantoms were lost than any other type in service with any nation. The United States lost 578 Ryan Model 147 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (554 over Vietnam and 24 over China). [1] More than 400 QH-50C/D UAVs were also lost. [2] There were about 11,846 U.S helicopters that served in the Vietnam War.
Elon Musk tweeted that the US is overreliant on manned aircraft like the F-35 instead of drones. But the truth is, we need both of them to win the next war and dominate the skies.
The first drone strike was on Friday, Aug. 27, followed by a second attack on Aug. 29. America then proudly took credit for these attacks, in which it used a unique Hellfire missile known ...