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Boeing QF-16 (Fighting Falcon)

History

QF-16 is the codename for the retired Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter jets that have been converted into full-scale unmanned aircraft. The QF-16 - modified through a Boeing-led program - succeeds the production line of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 "Phantom II" multirole fighter, converted by BAe to the "QF-4".

The QF-16 family is used as aerial targets for training purposes, as well as to develop new aerial theories and test new technologies.

The QF-16 fleet (as of 2015) currently consists of six modified F-16s currently in service with the 82nd Air Target Squadron (ATS) of the United States Air Force (USAF). The test will take place at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

The existing F-16 airframe will be upgraded by Boeing engineers with new equipment to enable automatic takeoff and landing, pre-set maneuvers, and high-speed, high-altitude flight. These former USAF aircraft - mostly F-16A and F-16C production models - carrying Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200, -220 or -229 turbofan engines or F110-GE-100 series turbofan engines or General Electric's- The 129 afterburner capability enables the fourth-generation airframe to reach supersonic speeds and move with high agility to better represent the modern aerial targets encountered by American pilots today.

In addition, the aircraft retains a fully functional defensive suit designed to counter incoming radar tracking and finding air-to-air missiles, providing a greater challenge for student pilots. If the QF-16 becomes unresponsive to the operator or encounters danger near civilian areas, its airflight could be terminated by the loss of the entire aircraft.

The QF-16 program has achieved several milestones since its inceptionit flew with an empty cockpit on September 23, 2013, to much attention. In August 2014, it was reported that the aircraft successfully survived live-fire tests using ground-launched missiles.

However, instead of targeting the missile directly at the drone (and risking complete loss), the Ground Control Station (GCS) used the QF's onboard data acquisition system to send the missile to specific coordinates in the airspace near QF-16-16 . That rocket has indeed reached the coordinates. After comparing the data from the GCS and the QF-16, the missile was able to hit its "target".

Beyond the stated scope of the plan, it is not excluded that the data collected from the QF-16 project will serve a full-scale unmanned combat aircraft platform in the near future.

In April 2016, it was announced that Boeing had received an order to manufacture an additional 30 QF-16 systems. The work is expected to be completed by April 2018.