| QB-47E was the designation given
to two B-47Es that were converted into prototype radio-controlled drones for use as
targets or for other tasks deemed too hazardous to human occupants. Twelve more
conversions were carried out by June of 1960. Even though the QB-47Es were unmanned, they
were generally considered as being too expensive to be treated as being expendable, and
the guided missiles tested against them were usually programmed to make near-misses. Even
in spite of such precautions, a QB-47E was inadvertently destroyed by a direct hit from a
Bomarc missile. |
