The Phantom Menace
MOJAVE, Calif. — Lined up inside a cavernous hanger on the fringe of the air- and spaceport here, once supersonic F-4 Phantom fighter planes sit motionless in various states of repair. This is something of a rehab center for these veteran war birds: Nose cones swing open to expose radar fixtures, aluminum foil plugs protect air inlets from debris and fuselage panels have been removed to expose squares of the electrical systems that run them. Plucked from an Air Force boneyard in the Arizona desert, the F-4s are now being retooled for a suicide mission—they’ll retire not as relics but as test drones for air-to-air missiles. [Check out exclusive video from BAE Systems here; story continues below ...]Each military mod takes about 90 days from the Phantom’s arrival here until its delivery as an unmanned aircraft to the Air Force. Mechanics and engineers from BAE Flight Systems outfit each plane with servos for control systems, plus new software and 5 mi. of bright white wiring. A test pilot takes the Phantom, re-dubbed QF-4 Full Scale Aerial Target, for a test spin before flying it to Tyndall Air Force Base outside Panama City, Fla. That’s where the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron (code name: Team Target) organizes weapons and radar tests using remote-controlled F-4s.
Indeed, contractors the world over have been rebuilding the next generation of sacrificial lambs for simulated combat. As threats grow more sophisticated, more complex targets become necessary for live-fire tests—dummy drones like these are the diligently designed, if seldom praised, heroes of trainingmissions. —Joe Pappalardo
Mr. Fantastic
Pop-up targets aren’t just for Osama Bin Laden mugshots at the local firing range anymore. To surprise enemies, attack helicopters often use their hovering capabilities to rise above tree lines and hilltops before launching missiles or spraying cannon fire. Last month, high-power contractor QinetiQ delivered a full-scale chopper to the British Ministry of Defense that is mounted on a scissor lift, enabling it to spring from the ground like a real chopper. Royal Air Force pilots, ground troops and the Royal Navy seamen will use the targets to hone their reaction time in downing helicopters.
The Bat Mobile
Like skeet shooting pigeons for shoulder-fired missiles, the Army’s Ballistic Aerial Target System (BATS) provides low-cost rockets that simulate the speed and trajectory of cruise missiles. Since they evade radar by speeding at low altitudes, then quickly plunge to attack from on high, BATS targets force soldiers armed with Stinger or Avenger missiles to respond quickly and knock the droids from the sky.
The Flash
Generations of military pilots have honed their dog-fighting prowess by squaring off against the MQM-107 “Streaker.” First built in the 1970s and upgraded regularly, the Streaker is a swept-wing monoplane that can reach 0.8 Mach speed at 35,000 ft. Recent tweaks now allow the seeker to better act as a hostile aircraft, performing 6.25-G turns, barrel rolls and other evasive maneuvers. And it’s reusable, returning to the ground via parachute—so trainees achieve air-to-air missile lock-on by tracking the Seeker, not destroying it.
Aquaman
Perhaps the single-most physical manifestation of military might are the aircraft carriers, but that designation puts them in the crosshairs of missiles specifically designed to destroy them. With new enemy designs—such as sea-skimming missiles able to reach extremely quick closing speeds—advanced practice targets are required to build the carrier’s defense equipment and train sailors to use it. Among the newest is the GQM-163 As “Coyote”—a trailblazer of sorts as the first U.S. missile to successfully use the ramjet engines, now used in missiles across the U.S. military. At a reported cost of more than $500,000 a pop, Coyotes can hit Mach 2.5 and crease the waves at less than 20 ft. altitude. But as new enemy missiles fly even faster, and closer to the waves, he Navy is seeking more advanced anti-ship test beds. The cat-and-mouse game continues.
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