NNSA-NSO-186 - A black and white photo of a plane on a runway

DIXIE Event - Las Vegas, NV, April 6, 1963 - The QF-80 jet drone (pilotless aircraft) pictured was used in atomic detonation at the Nevada Proving Grounds, according to test officials here. The drone penetrated the radioactive cloud at about 30,000 feet altitude to collect data of interest to the U.S. Air Force regarding radiological hazards in an atomic cloud. This was the first use of jet drones during continental nuclear test operations by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense. The wing-tip tanks suspended beneath the wings of the drone are used to trap particles of the radioactive cloud for analysis by nuclear scientists.