QF-16s: Look Ma, No Hands!
click for video
Lot 2 order, on schedule (q.v. March 8/10).
September 29/16: Initial operational capability has been given 
by the USAF Air Combat Command for the QF-16 full-scale aerial target (FSAT). All 15 QF-16s located at the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida have been approved for target operations. Due to replace the legacy QF-4 aerial target, the QF-16 will introduce fourth-generation fighter capabilities in the aerial target mission, maintaining all inherent capabilities of the baseline F-16 Fighting Falcon, including supersonic flight and 9 G maneuverability.
(click to view full)
QF-16s are former F-16 fighters that will be fitted with equipment for remote-controlled flight, and used as aerial targets and decoys for testing against air-air missiles, radars, surface-air missiles, etc. Could they be used for more than that?
The QF-16 is a follow-on to the QF-4 aerial target drone, which are converted by BAE Systems. The USAF is running out of F-4 family airframes to convert, and production is set to end in FY 2013. The QF-16s will be their replacements, but the conversion process must still be developed and tested. BAE Systems won’t be leading the QF-16 program, however; Boeing won that contract.
Contracts and Key Events
The initial contract involves 126 jets, but the overall program involves 210-220 QF-16 aircraft. Most will be taken from dry storage at the AMARG “boneyard,” at Davis Monthan AFB, AZ. Note that QF-16s aren’t fully autonomous, as they have pilots who sit on the ground and direct the planes via remote control. Tying the F-16’s systems into the new set of remote control systems was apparently quite an involved and challenging project.
FY 2012 – 2016
click for video
September 29/16: Initial operational capability has been given by the USAF Air Combat Command for the QF-16 full-scale aerial target (FSAT). All 15 QF-16s located at the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida have been approved for target operations. Due to replace the legacy QF-4 aerial target, the QF-16 will introduce fourth-generation fighter capabilities in the aerial target mission, maintaining all inherent capabilities of the baseline F-16 Fighting Falcon, including supersonic flight and 9 G maneuverability.
May 20/14: Lot 2. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a $27.7 million contract modification for QF-16 Production Lot 2: 23 QF-16 conversions, with 4-year warranties for the onboard systems that turn them into remote control aircraft. This brings the contract’s total value so far to $158.7 million.
All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2013 procurement & 2014 R&D budgets. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and will be complete by May 20/16 as the warranties expire. The USAF Life Cycle Management Center/EBYK (Aerial Targets) at Eglin AFB, FL manages the contract (FA8678-10-C-0100, PO 0058).
Lot 2
May 7/14: QF-16 UCAVs? With the USAF looking for just 210 QF-16s at most, and hundreds of F-16s in storage and headed for storage, Boeing is thinking bigger. Boeing’s QF-16 chief engineer Paul Cejas told IHS Jane’s that they’re thinking of using them as Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles, for close-air support and deep strikes against the most dangerous targets.
Step 1 is giving the QF-16s control options that don’t require line of sight, which is currently the case at Tyndall AFB, FL and White Sands Missile Range, NM. Step 2 would involve thinking through mission performance very carefully. Contested airspace is the main reason to use a QF-16 over an MQ-9 Reaper, but UAV pilots have very limited fields of view. That’s a problem for contested strike missions, let alone aerial dogfights. Now add the inevitable delays of latency to magnify the problem, unless the QF-16s are given another level of autonomy for evasion and flight. Range will be limited without aerial refueling, though parallel R&D programs may be about to solve that issue.
On balance, this may be one of those ideas that needs to wait for another iteration or 2 of technology before it really makes sense. Sources: IHS Jane’s 360, “Boeing touts operational QF-16 UAV'”.
September 2013: 1st unmanned flight. The first unmanned F-16 flight takes place at Tyndall AFB, FL. The jet reaches Mach 1.47 and 40,000 feet, performing barrel rolls and other maneuvers before returning with a safe landing.
Boeing has modified 6 QF-16s so far, and this initial test plane had last flown 15 years ago. Conversions will continue, while the next step for converted planes is live fire testing at Holloman AFB, NM. Sources: Boeing feature, “On target: QF-16 flies with an empty cockpit”.
1st unmanned flight
Dec 11/12: More EMD. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a $17 million contract modification for Engineering, Manufacturing and Development Phase Option 1. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete by March 2014. The AFLCMC/EBYK at Eglin AFB, FL manages the contract (FA8678-10-C-0100, PO 0028).
Nov 19/12: Testing. The 1st QF-16 drone arrives for developmental testing at Tyndall AFB, FL. Boeing Global Services and Support will conduct testing on the QF-16, which will undergo approximately 6 months of testing to validate their capabilities and ensure compatibility with the Gulf Range Drone Control System. Next, the aircraft will deploy to Holloman AFB, NM, for 4 more months of integrated testing.
When all test milestones are complete, the aircraft will return permanently to the 53rd WEG, complete a transition period, and achieve initial operational capability at Tyndall AFB. The first production QF-16 is scheduled to be delivered in 2014. USAF | Boeing.
May 4/12: 1st flight. Boeing and the U.S. Air Force complete the 1st QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target flight at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, FL. For safety reasons, initial flights take place with a pilot on board. Boeing.
1st flight
FY 2010 – 2011
(click to view full)
July 7/10: Sub-contractors. Herley Industries’ subsidiary Micro Systems, Inc. in Fort Walton Beach, FL announces a development and production contract from Boeing for a QF-16 command and control transponder and a ground systems module. This development contract has an initial award of $2.3 million, and a total potential value of $19 million.
April 22/10: F-16 arrives. The first retired F-16 Falcon arrives at Boeing’s Cecil Field facility near Jacksonville, FL to begin conversion into a QF-16 aerial drone. The team will receive 6 F-16s during the program’s development phase, which will be modified and serve as prototypes for engineering tests and evaluation prior to low-rate initial production. Boeing.
March 8/10: QF-16 EMD. Boeing in St. Louis, MO announces a $69.7 million contract to develop and provide QF-16 “optionally manned” full scale aerial targets. Phase I covers engineering, manufacturing and development. Under the terms of the remainder of the contract, expected to be awarded in coming years, up to 126 QF-16 drones will deliver beginning in 2014, and 2014 is also the expected year for full rate production. The USAF expects to buy 220 QF-16s over time.
QF-16 design and development will take place in St. Louis. MO. Ground and flight testing and production will be completed at the Boeing facility in Cecil Field, FL, near Jacksonville. The Boeing-led QF-16 team also includes BAE Systems in Johnson City, NY, who led the QF-4 program. For the Boeing QF-16 contract, $950,000 is committed at the outset by the 691st Armament Systems Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, FL (FA8678-10-C-0100). See also Boeing release.
Development contract
(click to view full)
October 2009: QF-4s. In a presentation to the NDIA, Deputy Director of the 691st Armament Systems Squadron Mike VandenBoom sketches out the remaining QF-4 program. As of October 2009, they had completed Lot 13 production and begun Lot 14 deliveries, with 256 QF-4s delivered to date. Production is now down to using RF-4C reconnaissance aircraft instead of F-4E fighters, which will provide another 3 years of full production capability until Lot 17, the final production lot.
QF-4 Lots 15-17 will comprise 36 aircraft, with deliveries lasting until July 2013, which is expected to provide enough inventory through FY 2015. Successor “QF-16” aircraft will need to pick up the job from there.
Additional Readings
- Boeing Feature (Sept 23/13) – On target: QF-16 flies with an empty cockpit
- Boeing feature (Sept 4/12) – QF-16 Takes Flight
- USAF, via WayBack (October 2009) – Air Force Aerial Targets: October 2009 NDIA Brief [PDF]
