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The F-105 Thunderchief, better known as the THUD, and its aircrews represent some of the issues and challenges that modern autonomous collaborative platforms are looking to solve.
The F-105 was our primary bomber aircraft in the Rolling Thunder strategic bombing campaign over North Vietnam during the Southeast Asia War, better known as the Vietnam War. The skies above Hanoi and Haiphong were heavily contested, and the North Vietnamese had an integrated air defense system that included radar directed anti-aircraft guns, surface to air missiles and MiG interceptors.
Not surprisingly, operating in these dangerous skies caused heavy losses, and more than 300 of these F-105s, nearly half of their production run, were lost during the conflict, and worse still, with the loss of many of their aircrews. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that the F-105 was out of production, so each one lost could not be replaced. So once they were gone, they were gone for good.
The high production rates and relatively low cost of uncrewed, autonomous collaborative platforms offer a modern solution to solve this past Department of the Air Force problem.
Air Force Historian, Jeff Duford, joins the AFRL “Discovery to Delivery” video series to uncover the historic scope and role of AFRL’s critical research, which delivers today’s warfighting capabilities.
| Date Taken: | 01.01.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.16.2026 09:54 |
| Category: | Video Productions |
| Video ID: | 992273 |
| VIRIN: | 260101-O-NQ323-2015 |
| Filename: | DOD_111469181 |
| Length: | 00:01:39 |
| Location: | US |
| Downloads: | 5 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 5 |
This work, F-105 | AFRL Discovery to Delivery, by Keith C Lewis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
