Three-Hundredth QF-4 Delivered

BAE Systems recently completed conversion of the 300th QF-4 Phantom II Full Scale Aerial Target for delivery to the Air Force, company officials stated in a release on Monday. Workers modified the former RF-4 Phantom recce variant with autonomous controls and other changes over the last few months on the company’s conversion line in Mojave, Calif. “We have been the sole provider of QF-4s for the Air Force since 1996,” said Gordon Eldridge, company aerospace solutions vice president, in BAE’s release, Nov. 12. BAE’s drone conversion line “now has more than 35 years of combined experience and a solid track record of success,” he added. The complex rework and refurbishment requires approximately six months, according to BAE. Work began on the final QF-4 began in May, and BAE plans to deliver 14 more QF-4s, according to the release. Succeeding the QF-4s will be QF-16 drones. The prototype QF-16 flew for the first time this spring.