6 ms·
The Battle of Palmdale
- wyager 10y agoEmbarrassing. 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.
- Camillo 10y agoHow was the drone controlled? Even without control signals, it was able to stay airborne for a long time, while also changing direction.
- mikeash 10y agoAirplanes 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
- codezero 10y agoUsually by radio with the assistance of some standard autopilot features like gyroscopic stabilization.
- nerdponx 10y ago> 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?
- wtbob 10y agoI'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
- smallnamespace 10y agoThe drone was flying in a continuous turn, so matching position, rate of turn, speed, and wing position simultaneously is probably an overconstrained problem.
- sandworm101 10y agoThat 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.
- mikeash 10y agoI 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.
- bobwaycott 10y agoGrew up in the area, and never heard about this story. Surreal reading about all the places and streets I know, imagining this happening.
- messick 10y agoMost 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.