What is it? Game 106

This week's collaboration with the always awesome What Is It? Blog brings us this strange object - can you guess what it is for? Place your guess in the comment section - no prize this week, so you're playing for the fun of it.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog - Good luck!

Update 7/26/09 - That was too easy! The answer: A dart aerial gunnery target, this dart tow-target was fired upon by F-84F pilots of the 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard, Springfield, Ohio, during 1968 summer training exercises in Michigan. It was towed behind another airplane on 1,500 to 2,000 feet of cable and was equipped with a radar reflector to permit the use of radar gunsights. It was returned to earth by parachute upon completion of a gunnery mission. The damage was caused by .50-cal. bullets.

Congratulations to Jared who got it right first!

Yeah, this one is easy for military aviation geeks

It is a towed arial target for air to air gunnery practice. Specifically, it is at the Wright Patterson AF museum in Dayton Ohio. The holes in it are from 50cal bullets.

IIRC, this specific target was used by a reserve/national guard unit near Toledo before it was retired.
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#14 beat me to the punch!

Everything I ever needed to know, I learned from MST3K.
Although in "The Starfighters" it was never adequately explained why they called the sea rescue device a "Poopy Suit". Hmmmm......
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Until I read #10, I imagined this was a test payload. Like everyone keeps saying, a giant lawn dart... to be used for dropping mock bombs and seeing where they land for accuracy.
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http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=404

More info is available on the AFMuseum page. I was wrong though. The 187th is based out of Alabama. The target in Dayton is from the 162nd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/187th_Fighter_Wing
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