QF - 16 arrived for the test, 53rd mission advances WEG

 "Work before today and the test work that is to come will allow the Air Force to transition from a 3rd generation, performance of air-war targets of Viet Nam to the 4th generation threat replication and beyond," said Lieutenant-Colonel Lance Wilkins, Commander of the 82nd aerial targets Squadron.

The QF-16 is a reusable supersonic large-scale aerial target drone changed from an F - 16 Fighting Falcon. At this time, the 53 WEG uses QF - 4s, made from the 60 F - 4 Phantoms, to conduct their missions of aerial targets on a large scale. Objectives enable the Air Force and allied countries to have a realistic idea of what they face on the battlefield.

"In the imminent future, the QF-16 will be air - air testing and evaluation of a notch," said Colonel Wilkins. "It will make our U.S. and allied, crews of aircraft and more reliable and more deadly weapons. It will serve a new generation of warriors. »

Boeing service and Support will carry out test the QF-16, according to a Boeing press release.

QF-16s will be approximately six months of tests to validate their abilities and ensure compatibility with the system of control of the Drone from the Gulf Beach, explained the officials group. Then the aircraft will deploy to Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. for about four months more than integrated tests. When all test steps are complete, the unit permanently returned to the 53 WEG to complete a transition period in order to achieve initial operating capability in Tyndall.

The first production QF-16 is scheduled to be delivered in 2014.

The Air Force is about 5th generation fighters such as the F - 22 Raptor and the F - 35 Joint Strike Fighter for the next field of battle, the Group acts as a safety net for our weapons capability is fully evaluated and understood prior to use in combat, said Col. James Vogel, 53rd Commander WEG.

"It is a great day," said Colonel Vogel. "We are 100% behind the road to the IOC for the QF-16."

The colonel said that the day is possible with the work of many organizations such as team Tyndall and entrepreneurs.

The 53 WEG, which is part of the 53rd wing at Eglin, Fla. Air Force Base provides the staff and infrastructure to test and evaluate weapons used by aviation combat of the United States and its allies. The Group operates only in large scale aerial drones in the Department of defense.

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