US Air Force to get QF-16 drones

Boeing is to develop an F-16 drone.

Gary Parsons - 9-Mar-2010

The last operational F-16A ‘Fighting Falcon’ in the US Air Force retired on June 15, 2007. This aircraft and many others are stored at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB. US Air Force image/Master Sgt. David Neve

March 9: The US Air Force has awarded Boeing almost $70 million for the initial engineering, manufacturing and development of QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Targets to replace its current fleet of QF-4 Phantoms. Up to 126 QF-16 drones will be required from 2014.

Retired F-16s will be converted into unmanned drones for use as aerial targets to evaluate US fighters and weapons tactics. Boeing says that QF-16 design and development will take place in St. Louis and flight testing and production completed at the Boeing facility in Cecil Field, Florida, near Jacksonville.

The US Air Force has about 72 QF-4 drones left from 174 converted.

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