The Boeing (Lockheed Martin) QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) flew for the first time without a pilot onboard on September 19. The 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron (ATRS) and the programme's prime contractor, Boeing, conducted the flight from Tyndall AFB, Florida. A pilot performed all the pre-flight checks before the aircraft (QF-16A Block 15 83-0110/'QF-004') was handed over to Thomas Mudge, a pilot controller from the 82nd ATRS, to 'fly' . The QF-16 took off at 1500hrs for an hour-long sortie during which it was put through a number of manoeuvres and reached supersonic speeds before returning to base.
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