Posted on Mar 29, 2020
The Secret Lightning Bug War Over the Vietnam War
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Although a cornerstone of modern U.S. military operations, unmanned drone aircraft actually came into extensive use as far back as the Vietnam War. It was then that the U.S. began conducting the very first real-time remote controlled communications intelligence collection missions using jet-powered drones, nicknamed “Lightning Bugs,” in North Vietnam. A diverse line-up of advanced drones was subsequently kept a secret from the public for years as the U.S. used them to conduct reconnaissance missions on its enemies.
Drones
Vietnam War
Military History
Posted >1 y ago
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I have personally completed a large amount of work researching the Vietnam war and did not know anything about this. Thanks for providing this information!
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So drones aren't new; just smaller, more maneuverable, capable of real time communication with ground troops, able to see small detailed details, and less costly. Kudos to the men of yesterday for the technology of today.
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The Army was experimenting with an earlier precursor to modern drones the Glide Bomb using TV technology in the 1940s but even earlier the US Navy had some success with what would be considered a drone as well • 1917: First Automatic Gyro UAV (Curtiss N-9)
In 1917, Peter Cooper and Elmer A. Sperry invented the first automatic gyro stabilizer, which allowed the aircraft to keep the balance forward Flight, the unmanned aerial vehicle was born. This technological achievement successfully transformed the U.S. Navy Curtiss N-9 training aircraft into the first radio-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Sperry Aerial Torpedo flew 50 miles with a 300-pound bomb, but it never participated in actual combat. http://www.dronetechplanet.com/the-history-of-drones-history-timeline-from-1483-to-2020/
In 1917, Peter Cooper and Elmer A. Sperry invented the first automatic gyro stabilizer, which allowed the aircraft to keep the balance forward Flight, the unmanned aerial vehicle was born. This technological achievement successfully transformed the U.S. Navy Curtiss N-9 training aircraft into the first radio-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Sperry Aerial Torpedo flew 50 miles with a 300-pound bomb, but it never participated in actual combat. http://www.dronetechplanet.com/the-history-of-drones-history-timeline-from-1483-to-2020/
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