US converts aging F-16 into drones
F-16 takes its first flight without a human as Boeing converts aging fighters into drones.
WASINGTON (Web Desk) - The US Air Force s F-16 fighter jets are a common sight above Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. But this week one roared into the sky with a major difference: there was no pilot in the cockpit.
The unmanned test flight was a retired F-16 retrofitted by maker Boeing as a drone - the first time one of the jets has flown without a pilot, the company said.
Renamed the QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target, the reconditioned aircraft are intended to give U.S. fighter pilots an realistic adversary to train against.
Two U.S. Air Force test pilots remotely flew the QF-16 from a ground control station at Tyndall.
While in the air, the QF-16 mission included a series of simulated manoeuvres, reaching supersonic speeds, returning to base and landing, all without a pilot in the cockpit
It was a little different to see it without anyone in it, but it was a great flight all the way around, said U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Inman, Commander, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron.
It’s a replication of current, real world situations and aircraft platforms they can shoot as a target. Now we have a 9G capable, highly sustainable aerial target.
Before the QF-16, the military used a QF-4 aircraft, which was a modification of the F-4 Phantom, a now well outdated, Vietnam-era fighter.
But the modified QF-16 provides pilots a target that performs closer to many jets flying today.
The QF-16s were all retired aircraft. Boeing retrieved them from Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and restored them for flight.
Next live fire testing moves to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The military will ultimately use QF-16s for weapons testing and other aerial training.
So far, Boeing has modified six F-16s into the QF-16 configuration.
