F-4 Phantom

The supersonic QF-4 is a reusable full-scale, remotely piloted aerial target modified from the F-4 Phantom and used to provide a realistic target for air-to-air weapons system evaluation, development, and testing at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and Holloman AFB, New Mexico. It simulates enemy aircraft maneuvers and can be flown by remote control or with a safety pilot monitoring its performance. It is flown unmanned when missiles are fired at it, and only in specific over-water airspace authorized for unmanned flight; when flown unmanned, an explosive device is placed in the aircraft to destroy it if it inadvertently becomes uncontrollable. It is equipped to carry electronic and infrared countermeasures to fully evaluate fighters and weapons flown and fired against it. Full-scale aircraft can be flown totally by computer or controlled manually during takeoff and landing using a mobile control station at the runway, while a chase plane trails it during critical periods of flight as a safety precaution. First flown in May 1958, the Phantom II was originally developed for U.S. Navy fleet defense and entered service in 1961. The Air Force evaluated it as the F-110A Spectre for close air support, interdiction, and counter-air operations, and in 1962 the U.S. Air Force version was approved. The Air Force's Phantom II was designated F-4C and first flew May 27, 1963, with production deliveries beginning in November 1963. The F-4 became the U.S. Air Force's primary fighter-bomber throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and F-4s also flew reconnaissance and Wild Weasel anti-aircraft missile suppression missions. Phantom II production ended in 1979, and the modified F-4 became the QF-4, successor to the QF-106 in the Air Force aerial target inventory.

White Sands, New Mexico · United States