×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Small Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Chart (2024) Special Forces
HOME
AVIATION INDEX
MODERN AIR FORCES
AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY
AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE AIRCRAFT
AIRCRAFT BY CONFLICT
AIRCRAFT BY TYPE
AIRCRAFT BY DECADE
MODERN AIRCRAFT
DRONE TECHNOLOGY
Aviation / Aerospace

Boeing QF-16 (Fighting Falcon)


Unmanned Target and Training Drone [ 2015 ]



Boeing is converting a retired stock of Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters for the unmanned target drone role.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/21/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
QF-16 is the designation assigned to retired Lockheed Martin F-16 "Fighting Falcon" multirole fighters reconstituted as full-scale, unmanned drone aircraft. The QF-16 - converted through a Boeing-led program - succeeds the outgoing line of McDonnell Douglas F-4 "Phantom II" multirole fighters converted by BAe to become the "QF-4". The QF-16 series will be featured as an aerial target for training purposes as well as to develop new aerial doctrine and test new technologies.

Six modified F-16s currently make up the QF-16 fleet (as of 2015) and these currently serve the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron (ATS) of the United States Air Force (USAF). Testing is done at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

The existing F-16 airframe is outfitted by Boeing engineers with new equipment allowing for automated take-off and landing, preset maneuvers execution and high-speed, high-altitude flight. These ex-USAF aircraft - mainly F-16A and F-16C production models - carry the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200, -220 or -229 or the General Electric F110-GE-100 or -129 series turbofan engines offering afterburning capability which allows the fourth generation airframe to reach supersonic speeds and enter high agility movements to better represent modern air targets to be encountered by American airmen today. Additionally, the aircraft retains a full-working defensive suit which serves against incoming radar tracking and seeking air-to-air missiles - offering a greater challenge to the student pilot. Should the QF-16 become unresponsive to the operators or a danger near civilian areas its flight can be terminated in-air with the loss of the entire aircraft.

The QF-16 program has reached several milestones since its development began - it flew with an empty cockpit on September 23rd, 2013 to much publicity. In August of 2014 it was reported that the aircraft responded successfully to a ground-based missile live fire test. However, instead of directly targeting the unmanned aircraft with the missile (and risking its total loss), a Ground Control Station (GCS) sent the missile to a specific coordinate in the airspace near the QF-16 with the data collection system aboard the QF-16 validating that the missile did in fact reach the coordinates. After data comparison from both the GCS and QF-16, the missile was able to hit its "target".

Beyond the stated scope of the program, it is not out of the realm of possibility that data garnered from the QF-16 project will serve a full-sized unmanned fighter platform in the near future.

In April of 2016 it was announced that Boeing won a contract to manufacture an additional 30 QF-16 systems. The work is expected to be completed by April of 2018.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications



Boeing Company - USA
Manufacturer(s)
United States
Operators National flag of the United States
2015
Service Year
United States
National Origin
Active
Project Status
0
(UNMANNED)
Crew
126
Units


UNMANNED
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.


49.2 ft
(15.00 meters)
Length
32.6 ft
(9.95 meters)
Width/Span
16.0 ft
(4.88 meters)
Height
18,894 lb
(8,570 kilograms)
Empty Weight
42,329 lb
(19,200 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight
+23,435 lb
(+10,630 kg)
Weight Difference


1 x Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200/220/229 OR General Electric F110-GE-100/129 afterburning turbofan engine developing 28,600 lb of thrust.
Propulsion
901 mph
(1,450 kph | 783 knots)
Max Speed
50,000 ft
(15,240 m | 9 miles)
Ceiling
2,610 miles
(4,200 km | 2,268 nm)
Range
50,000 ft/min
(15,240 m/min)
Rate-of-Climb


MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


None. Explosives carried should the air vehicle become unresponsive in flight.


0
Hardpoints


QF-16 - Base series designation; based on the General Dynamics / Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon airframe.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for Special Forces
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Images



1 / 1
Image of the Boeing QF-16 (Fighting Falcon)
Image from official Boeing marketing material.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)