The Air Force is testing a new self-destruct system by blowing up old F-16s. Why? To avert what happened earlier this month when the Navy lost control of a drone over Washington, DC.


An F-16 Fighting Falcon was intentionally blown apart on the range at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida as part of a test on an aerial-target flight termination system Aug. 19.



We're told the correct term is "flight termination system" or FTS, but it's basically a self-destruct system. Why, you might ask, would they be building a self-destruct system for the F-16? Simple, because they're developing supersonic target drones from recycled F-16s and they need to demonstrate the FTS design will be sufficient to immediately terminate the flight of the newly-designated QF-16. Probably a good idea, especially after the Navy lost control of a drone over D.C. earlier this month.


Wait, doesn't every robot-apocalypse movie start with a foolproof self-destruct system? (Thanks Dukie!)

[USAirForce]