As part of a Department of Defense effort to understand the effects of a nuclear detonations on military equipment, AFSWP (Air Force Special Weapons Program) tested aircraft and aircraft components during Operation TEAPOT in 1955 to determine how well they could withstand blast and heat produced by a nuclear detonation. Project 5.1, Destructive Loads on Aircraft in Flight, was designed to assess how the overall structure of jet-fighter aircraft could respond to the destructive blast forces produced by a nuclear explosion. The full experiment was performed on Shot MET (Military Effects Test) with three QF-80K radio-controlled drone aircraft. The drones flew within range of the blast to record its effects.
