Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

neoplastic_pleonasm t1_je5yu5n wrote

Nah, it's been publicly known for a long while. I think it's mentioned in the book Skunkworks. The Operations Room also has a good video series about the Desert Storm air war that I think mentions it: https://youtu.be/zxRgfBXn6Mg

Edit: around t=13:30

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bboyneko OP t1_je5y0sb wrote

I was watching "Viva Las Vegas" on a plane trip recently and when I watched the end race, including Elvis' girlfriend getting in a helicopter to follow the race, and the crazy wrecks and car explosions, as well as the design of the cars and Elvis' helmet and goggles, I was like "Wait a second, this is literally speed racer." Then I did some research and saw that this was a huge inspiration for Speed Racer, as was the gadgets in James Bond's cars of films of that time period.

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KNHaw t1_je5xoee wrote

No worries. Not classified at all. Gen Schwartzkopf gave one of his famous news conferences about it. "You know how the Iraqi government claimed they shot down a hundred planes yesterday? Well, let me explain why they think that..."

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WanderingCamper t1_je5wpaw wrote

It was one of the most closely guarded Allied technologies during the war. Similar in importance to radar, cracking enigma, and the Manhattan project.

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neoplastic_pleonasm t1_je5vzrg wrote

When I was a little kid, my grandfather, an air force mechanic, gave me a weird little model airplane for Christmas. It was black and pointy and had no cockpit. It wasn't until many years later I learned it was a real plane, a Lockheed D-21 hypersonic supersonic drone, and he'd worked on the project. It absolutely blew my mind that we had hypersonic supersonic drones in the late 60s.

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buntopolis t1_je5uspf wrote

Shit my grandfather served on the USS Essex as a PBY Radioman, and I had no clue that drones were ever a thing. Never mentioned them, ever. Very cool to learn!

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