
The Battle of Palmdale - x43b
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palmdale
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wyager
Embarrassing. I can imagine the "Benny Hill" theme playing during this whole
event. It sounds like a massive fuck-up by multiple parties, particularly
whoever made that missile system and the drone control hardware. I wonder how
many billions of dollars of taxpayer money was spent to acquire those cutting-
edge weapons systems, only to be defeated by a busted dummy target.

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Steltek
Interesting how this event in the 1950's presages the failures of missiles-
only fighters in Vietnam and the eventual return of guns as standard
equipment.

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wtbob
I'm surprised no-one tried to flip the drone with his wings, as Spitfires did
to V-1 bombs in WWII:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb#Interceptors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb#Interceptors)

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sandworm101
That is a very dangerous maneuver. No pilot would consider contacting another
aircraft in flight, especially not one of similar size/strength. It is just to
risky. Looking at the dihedral of the drone's wing, it would take a massive
force to tip it out of control. This was not a war and this was not a tiny
drone aimed at a city. I doubt ramming or any other similar maneuver was even
considered.

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mikeash
I agree that such a maneuver would be too risky, but note that the maneuver in
question didn't involve any physical contact, it was purely an aerodynamic
thing.

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nerdponx
> The attackers attempted to fire in automatic mode several times, but due to
> a design flaw in the fire control system the rockets failed to launch.

I'm really curious about this design flaw. Has anyone read the book the page
cites ("X Plane Crashes") that can fill in more detail?

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messick
Most of actual firing seemed to happen over what is now the city of Santa
Clarita. The "Bermite" mentioned in the wiki made munitions during WWII, and
was still making rocket fuel when I was kid in the late 80's. Catching that on
fire would have been bad news.

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bobwaycott
Grew up in the area, and never heard about this story. Surreal reading about
all the places and streets I know, imagining this happening.

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Camillo
How was the drone controlled? Even without control signals, it was able to
stay airborne for a long time, while also changing direction.

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mikeash
Airplanes tend to be stable with no control inputs. Planes flying long
distances without a pilot or other control inputs are somewhat common, as
these things go. Here's a famous example:

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornfield_Bomber](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornfield_Bomber)

