At the end of last November, the United States Air Force received the last of its QF-16 fighter aircraft, which are used as full-scale aerial targets for the training and preparation of its combat pilots. This aircraft, commonly referred to by specialists as “F-16 Zombies,” is the final unit produced by Boeing, marking the end of Fighting Falcon deliveries, and comes within the framework of the service’s plans to continue employing these unmanned aircraft at least until the year 2035.
Developed in the early 2010s and intended to replace the QF-4 Phantom in the aerial target role, the production and conversion of F-16s with remaining flight hours—preserved at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), popularly known as “The Boneyard”—reached its first major milestone in 2012, when the first unit began its test flights. By 2016, coinciding with the retirement of the QF-4, the F-16 Zombies had achieved Initial Operational Capability.
The delivery of the last unit by Boeing marks the closure of a stage lasting more than 15 years, one that brought together an important group of engineers and technicians who had to overcome significant challenges. Among them, first and foremost, was familiarizing themselves with an aircraft that the company did not design, develop, or produce—unlike Lockheed Martin, the other firm also responsible for the conversion.
This was reflected in a video produced by Boeing to commemorate the delivery of the final QF-16 to the U.S. Air Force, in which the challenges, details, and milestones of the program undertaken over the past decade and a half were reviewed.
As noted by the QF-16 Program Manager, Jake Irwin, the development of the QF-16 tested Boeing’s ability to produce a full-scale aerial target based on the already legendary F-16.
Broadly speaking, the QF-16 is a retired and preserved F-16 that undergoes restoration and refurbishment to return it to flying condition. Afterwards, Boeing personnel install and integrate a series of new sensors and systems that allow the fighter jet to fly without a human pilot on board. This does not mean that flight controls are removed, as the aircraft retains them and can be piloted if required.
In addition to the aforementioned equipment, and considering its primary role as an aerial target, sensor and telemetry systems are also installed to provide information on the performance of weapons employed by Air Force fighters during missile and live-fire testing.
Regarding the last QF-16 delivered—protagonist of this milestone—official images released by AMARG on social media revealed more details about its history, identifying it as serial number 83-1079, an F-16A delivered to the USAF in 1984. After 23 years of service operating with the 178th Fighter Squadron of the North Dakota Air National Guard—known as “the Happy Hooligans”—it was retired from service in 2007 and sent to the Boneyard.
Although the delivery of the aircraft marks the end of a stage for Boeing Defense, the company will continue providing maintenance and sustainment services to the USAF’s QF-16 fleet, in line with official plans for these aerial targets to remain in service at least until 2035.
This was reflected in several tenders issued earlier this year, stating: “… The F-16 Contracting Office (WAMKA) of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) is seeking to award an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract to provide post-production Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) for the QF-16 system in service, as well as repair or replacement of Drone Peculiar Equipment (DPE) and Peculiar Support Equipment (PSE).”
It further adds: “… The program office needs to maintain the fleet of approximately 90 QF-16s for an additional 10 years.”
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