The Air Force Is Converting Its Old F-16s Into a Fleet of Drones -- Gizmodo
An awkward thing happens late in the life of a fighter jet. It becomes too decrepit for combat but too functional for the junkyard. Don't worry, though. The Air Force has a plan: convert them all into drones in order to offer fighter pilots in training more realistic target practice.
The latest fleet to get the drone treatment is the famous but fading F-16. Outside of combat, this Cold War-era jet is perhaps best known for being the plane of choice for the Air Force Thunderbirds air show team. Those days are numbered, so Boeing is on deck to convert as many as 126 F-16s into so-called QF-16s, unmanned "aerial targets." So far, Boeing says, the aircraft are capable of "a series of simulated maneuvers, reaching supersonic speeds, returning to base and landing, all without a pilot in the cockpit."
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More News On the The U.S. Air Force's QF-16 Unmanned Aerial Target Drone
Empty F-16 jet tested by Boeing and US Air Force -- BBC
Look Ma! No Pilot! An unmanned F-16 takes to the skies…for target practice -- Time
QF-16 unmanned aerial target takes to air -- UPI
Watch a retired F-16 fighter return as a target practice drone -- The Verge
Boeing gives retired F-16 fighter new life as a drone -- Endgadget
WATCH: Who needs Tom Cruise? F-16 fighter jet flies without pilot -- Daily Star
Air Force steps up their game, turns F-16 fighter jets into unmanned drones -- Guns.com
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