They Flew Directly at Enemy Missiles to Destroy Them

When Soviet-made SA-2 surface-to-air missiles began shooting American aircraft out of the skies over North Vietnam in 1965, the U.S. Air Force faced a threat it had never encountered before. Traditional bombing tactics suddenly became suicidal, and every strike package risked flying into an invisible wall of radar-guided missiles. The solution was as dangerous as it was revolutionary: create a unit whose mission was to deliberately become the enemy's first target. Known as the Wild Weasels, these volunteer crews flew directly toward active missile sites, provoking radar operators into revealing their positions before diving into the heart of the defenses to destroy them. Flying first in modified F-100 Super Sabres and later in F-105 Thunderchiefs, they pioneered radar-homing missiles, invented daring tactics like "dancing with the SAMs," and endured the highest casualty rates of any Air Force mission in Vietnam. Pilots such as Leo Thorsness and their electronic warfare officers transformed what began as an improvised experiment into an entirely new form of aerial combat that forever changed how America fights wars. This is the incredible story of the Wild Weasels, the volunteers who hunted surface-to-air missiles, the men whose motto became "YGBSM," and the birth of the suppression of enemy air defenses mission that still leads every major U.S. air campaign today. --- Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between. As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.