Testing the US Military’s Worst Idea

As someone from the military. I assure you, this is not their worst idea.

The fact that they didn't seem to anticipate that a weight dangling from a helicopter on a tether would be swinging all over the place is ... odd to say the least.

Well... watched 30 seconds of this video and realized that them testing the "rods from god" idea was actually just them dropping a subsonic projectile, that lacks stabilization, onto a sand castle.

rod swinging wildly back and forth on the helicopter everyone: "wow I can't believe that missed the target."

My favourite part is where Adam Savage appears out of nowhere, as if desert explosion tests just summon him 😂

I'm shocked at how little thought went into properly testing this idea, especially when compared to the amount of money and number of people involved.

This might be one of the most unproffseional carried out experiments ive ever seen

What is hillarious about this. Is that they took no steps to make it more practical. Like how hard it would have been to add fins to the rods. Or even reduce the tether length to reduce the pendulum motion. Hell even install a camera to the belly of the helicopter so it can be aimed that way. This feels like they were only barely prepared for this. Which is shocking considering how much money went into making it.

I like to imagine that Adam Savage just materializes whenever something fun like this is happening in the desert

Wish there was a point in the experiment that the goal switch from accuracy to "lets see how big crater get from dropping really high" and proceed to have everyone really far away until it lands.

I love the notion that because you can't do it the military can't do it. We should keep in mind that currently the US military drops bombs from 30,000 ft with something close to pinpoint accuracy.

Dangling heavy objects from ROPES high up under an undulating, gyrating, helicopter and expecting ANY degree of accuracy. UMMM…..

Genuinely shocked at the scant amount of forethought that went into something with a budget this large.

Honestly I'm surprised about how elementary this set up was

This was a fun watch but the fact they watched the weight swing around and yet just kept thinking they were missing cause they weren't lined up was infuriating

The thing that gets me is how they were so focused on the aiming (I guarantee that the military has aiming figured out) and never just took the heaviest rod up to the highest altitude and dropped it at a safe distance in the desert. Everyone could hop in their cars and drive way far away if they were worried about it and leave cameras running to catch the impact.

I find it funny that Adam Savage is in this video, and it's not even mentioned. I'm just used to him being the one talking to a camera out in the desert, busting a myth.

Kinda surprised that nobody realized that this was never going to work. Id expect this from a Mr. Beast video but not Veritasium. Usually he simulates outcomes with equations before going into the field to test.

Imagine going through all of this work, spent all that money, and got all of these people together to make this video and not thinking of putting stabilizing fins on the object you are dropping from 500m

As a retired military aviation specialist, I've had firsthand experience with the complexities of dropping objects from altitude, particularly missiles. When you release something from a high altitude, it doesn't simply drop straight down. Various factors influence its trajectory. First, there's the forward momentum; whatever you're dropping is initially moving at the same speed as the aircraft. Then, wind plays a significant role; higher altitudes can have stronger and often different wind directions than at ground level. Additionally, Earth's rotation affects trajectories over long distances—a phenomenon known as the Coriolis effect. Lastly, the design of the object, such as a missile, includes aerodynamics intended to guide it towards a target, but this guidance must account for all these factors to be accurate. It's a complex interplay of physics, requiring precise calculations and adjustments for successful deployment.