Older models of the F-16 have been made into target drones for a couple of years now. Just recently, however, a QF-16 was reprogrammed to fly autonomously and attack a ground target.
Not only that, but the programmed F-16 responded to a threat on the way into the target and then continued to the target: Read more
US Army Reserve Chaplain Christopher Antal submitted his resignation “in protest” in April due, according to Antal, to the American policies regarding drones, nuclear weapons, and “preventive war, permanent military supremacy and global power projection.”
Antal publicly submitted his letter directly to his Commander-in-Chief, President Obama.
Reached for comment, the Army somewhat subtly said Antal had submitted his resignation, but Read more
Hearkening back to the days of the “flying sergeant,” the US Air Force will soon allow enlisted personnel to control RQ-4 Global Hawks:
“Our enlisted force is the best in the world and I am completely confident they will be able to do the job and do it well,” said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James…
The secretary and chief directed Air Combat Command to develop an implementation plan over the next six months to address items like entry requirements, training plans, career path development, delineation of duties, compensation details and an appropriate force mix. Implementation is focused on the Global Hawk community, not the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper force.
To be fair, the RQ-4 is a “fly by keyboard” drone: While it Read more
A congressionally-requested Government Accounting Office report on the US Air Force drone community was recently publicized:
Senate leaders in Sept. 2012 asked the GAO to study the Air Force’s approach to managing the remotely piloted aircraft crews, which has tripled since 2008…
The intent was to analyze how the drone community is being managed and treated, in the face of rumors of low morale, low promotion rates, and underappreciated warfighters. The GAO created and interviewed focus groups, concluding: Read more
Another article, this time from USA Today, paints the Air Force with the “new culture” mantra in light of the modern emphasis on UAVs, RPA, and other unmanned vehicles:
The rise of drone warfare has meant a dramatic cultural shift for the Air Force…
Like other media reports on the topic, the article doesn’t really say what the “dramatic cultural shift” actually is. (It does take a swipe at fighter pilots, saying Read more
The first QF-16 — an F-16 modified to be used as a target drone — has arrived at Tyndall AFB for testing.
The QF-16 is a supersonic reusable full-scale aerial target drone modified from an F-16 Fighting Falcon. At this time, the 53rd WEG uses QF-4s, made from 1960s F-4 Phantoms, to conduct their full-scale aerial target missions.
If the drone is put into production within a reasonable time, the QF-16 will mark the first time an active US Air Force combat airframe will be able to shoot down itself in training. Prior target drones — including the current QF-4s — were put into use after their active counterparts were retired.
According to an Air Force press release, an F-16 was intentionally blown up as part of an ongoing program to convert the F-16s to QF-16 target/drones. The explosion was apparently a part of the test of the “flight termination system,” or the kill switch that allows a controller to destroy a wayward unmanned vehicle. (Perhaps one flying into DC’s airspace?)
The first QF-16 is scheduled to be delivered in 2014. The QF-16 will replace the QF-4, the third generation full-scale aerial target drone.
The US Air Force has long flown QF-4s, with the Q designation indicating that the aircraft is a “drone.” The drones are still sometimes flown by a pilot in the cockpit, but are modified to be able to be flown unmanned, with control coming from a ground control station. They are used as targets for various missions, often testing of air-to-air missiles and radar systems. Though there are generally safeguards to protect the drone (it is expensive, after all), drones do occasionally get shot down (and that is also sometimes the objective).
Apparently, a “dwindling supply” of QF-4s (and also a shrinking supply of parts to keep them flying) has inspired the Air Force to now begin turning F-16s into drones. Boeing has reported the award of a the first part of a $69 million contract to convert 126 aircraft, reportedly from the boneyard, to QF-16 “Full Scale Aerial Targets,” aka “drones.”
In theory, the F-16 will be “easier” to convert than older aircraft, as it already has a computer-controlled, fly-by-wire flight control system, as opposed to the mechanical stick-and-rudder of the F-4 and prior airframes.
The QF-16s will apparently be the US Air Force’s newest “RPVs.”