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F-16 Becomes a Target Drone.

That may be the case, for reasons that you have mentioned.However to say that just because india does not chose it as MMRCA,means it is iout dated, is a serious injustice to a truely great plane. India will chose a plane to keep it s own needs in mind.it will have nothing to do with what PAF has or does not have.
Araz

I never intended to say it is a down graded plane sir..... It s a great plane no doubt about that. Saying its era is over it means that we have moved into next generation thats all sir. Oh ya IAF does take into consideration of what PAF has....

I meant exactly the opposite.Where did I say that it was downgraded.What I am saying is that F16s are and will remain relevant till the mid to end of next decade.
With regards to indian acquisitions, I think they want to move on to heavier aircrafts as they have a larger area to cover .They have the developed economy to support this acquisitions and the Chinese angle means that the US is currently willing to sell them the best that it has.As to development, F16 and F18s are more or less the same era as is SU27series.We are yet a decade away from the next generation andi personally think the era of manned stealth plane will not last long(My personal opinion)
Regards
Araz
 
F-16s Losing Their Pilots

March 14, 2010: The U.S. Air Force has ordered 126 QF-16 remotely controlled F-16 fighters. These will be used as aerial targets. The QF-16s will be converted from existing F-16s that have been retired from service. This first order of QF-16s will be delivered over the next four years.
The QF-16 replaces the older QF-4 drone aircraft. Nearly 250 F-4 Phantom fighters were modified to fly by remote control. The mods cost about $1.4 million per aircraft. The QF-4 first appeared when the U.S. Air Force retired it's F-4 fighters in the 1980s.

Training operations destroy up to 25 remotely controlled fighters a year. The existing supply of decommissioned F-4s will keep the air force going until about 2011. Before that, QF-16s will enter service.

Before the QF-4, the air force had converted 218 F-100s (for use from 1983-92), 136 F-102s (from 1974-85) and 210 F-106s (1990-98) to act as full scale target aircraft. There are smaller UAVs that are used as small scale targets. The full scale models were needed to fully test the capabilities of new, and existing, missiles. Nothing like using real missiles against real targets to build pilot confidence, and be sure the damn things work.

The QF type aircraft can be flown with, or without, a pilot on board. The aircraft use GPS to help with navigation, and to insure that QFs flying in formation don't collide with one another. The aircraft also carry sensors to detect near misses by missiles.

The UAV version of an aircraft is superior, in some ways, to one with a pilot in it. This is mainly because pilots black out when the aircraft makes turns too sharply, at high speed. The air force discovered how effective this capability was during the 1970s, when they rigged some jet fighters to fly without a pilot, and had them go up against manned aircraft.
 
That was good reply Mr Araz. Thanks for the time,more or less u reflected my views.
Regards
 
Damn seems like using old cavalry horses for rifle practice.

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Some where i read that they r planning to retire them. But USAF operates around 600 of them... Just a curiosity
 
Some where i read that they r planning to retire them. But USAF operates around 600 of them... Just a curiosity
Maybe the retire the old and convert them into latest block. F-16 age is like fine wine. The more its getting older the more its becoming better.
 
Just like that old Instaphone handset that we use to knock nails in walls.. very fine wine indeed.
 
can gift 200 to Pakistan lol we'll pay 5 million a piece.

lufwaffe its not actually a joke , i would support it if our diplomats succeed in getting even 150 Vipers .

We will get them Upgraded to Block 52 standard from TAI and that would add a destructive punch to PAF inventory till 2025;)
 

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