American intermediate range cruise missile. In July 1944, the USAAF implemented the idea to convert "war-weary" B-17 Flying Fortress bombers to radio-controlled assault drones. About 25 B-17s, mostly B-17F, were converted to BQ-7 configuration under program Aphrodite. The BQ-7 was to be flown from Great Britain against very hardened or heavily defended German targets - submarine pens or V-1 missile sites.