USAF receives first production QF-16 drone

USAF receives first production QF-16 drone

The first production Boeing QF-16 optionally manned target drone has been delivered to the US Air Force (USAF), the service announced on 20 March.

Aircraft QF-007 arrived at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) in Florida on 11 March, ahead of being pressed into service by the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron (ATS).

Boeing has delivered six pre-production QF-16s and is under contract to deliver 13 low-rate initial production (LRIP) platforms, of which QF-007 is the first. The LRIP drones should all be with the USAF by 9 October.

In all, the USAF expects to receive 126 QF-16s to replace the BAE Systems QF-4, the last of which was delivered in November 2013. The new drone is being introduced because QF-4 numbers are running low and the unmanned McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is no longer truly representative of the air-to-air threats USAF pilots are likely to encounter on future operations.

The QF-16 will be able to represent threats in the class of the MiG-29 'Fulcrum' and Sukhoi Su-27 'Flanker'.