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Phantom II
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Main AdminWith plenty of retired Phantoms available, it is unsurprising that the type was favored for conversion into high-performance target drones. Some F-4Bs were converted to "QF-4B" target drones and "DF-4B" drone controllers, and as later Phantom variants were removed from first-line service, they were often converted to target drones as well, collectively referred to simply as "QF-4s". The conversions cost a few million USD each.
Interestingly, some of the QF-4s retained a piloted capability. This was because test and training scenarios require a high degree of choreography to make them as realistic as possible, and so pilots had to fly the QF-4s through "dry runs" to ensure that all details were considered. The USAF referred to unpiloted flights using the acronym "NULLO (Not Utilizing Local Live Operator)", while the Navy more tidily called them "NOLO (No Onboard Live Operator)".
Up to four QF-4s could be flown in formation during NULLO flights. The drones did not interact with each other, they were simply commanded to follow a specific moving point in space known as a "rabbit", with each aircraft maintaining a specific three-dimensional offset from the rabbit. The autopilot system on the QF-4 was very sophisticated; for example, the remote operator could land the aircraft simply by giving it a single command to land.
Although missiles used in air combat tests don't usually have combat warheads, once a QF-4 was used as actual target in exercises, its predicted lifetime was no more than four missions. The QF-4 carried a self-destruct system to destroy itself if missile damage failed to shoot it down, leaving it as a potential threat to populated areas.
The last of 316 QF-4 conversions was delivered in late 2013. By that time, they were nearing the end of their useful lives even as targets, since they were unrepresentative of any adversary American pilots might face. The QF-4 was retired in early 2017, the type having been replaced by the "QF-16", converted from retired General Dynamics F-16A fighters.
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