QF-16C Pilotless Target Drone

QF-16C Block 30A 85-1473 / QF-014
82ATRS / 53Wing Tyndall, Florida
2016

As the F-22 and F-35 are replacing the F-16 some are being converted into pilot-less target drones. Apart from the high visibility paint job various antenna are mounted on the fuselage and front undercarriage door. They are often seen with an ACMI (Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation) pod on the wing tips that record the aircraft's in-flight data.

The example modeled is an ex-175FS South Dakota ANG aircraft - part of the Timber Wolf logo can still be seen on the rudder. Because these aircraft have often been in storage at Davis-Monthan, baking in the Arizona sun, there paintwork is often very faded. The F-16 still carries it's AMARC park code - AAFG0685 stenciled on the fuselage.

This nearly perfect 3d model is from file404. I redid the textures in 8K with each stencil and panel line reproduced accurately. All unit markings were created by me in GIMP. The QF antenna and ACMI pods were modeled in Wings3D.