About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 [1] (July 21, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/ihogaw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inforrning the legislive debate since 1914 Updated July 21, 2025 Aerial Targets Congress has required the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct realistic testing of certain weapon systems. The U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy have acquired a portfolio of subscale and full-scale aerial targets in part to meet this requirement. Aerial targets simulate real world aerial threats, such as crewed fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, missiles, and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). Congress could consider whether or not to require DOD to continue modernizing its existing portfolio of aerial targets or to invest in new aerial target systems. Congress could assess whether DOD-proposed systems are sufficiently realistic to represent the range of current and future aerial threats. The origins of the U.S. military's aerial targets are intertwined with those of uncrewed aerial systems, sometimes referred to as drones. In the 1930s, the U.S. Navy launched a program to use drones to evaluate the effectiveness of antiaircraft weapons on ships. According to one analysis of this program, the use of target drones exposed weaknesses in the Navy's defenses and gunnery training and convinced the Navy to make several improvements to the antiaircraft weapons on ships. Beginning in the early the 1960s and continuing through the Vietnam War, the U.S. Air Force used modified target drones to gather intelligence. These operations constituted the first large-scale use of drones in combat operations and contributed to a broader adoption of uncrewed aircraft. In Section 2366 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 (P.L. 99-661), Congress required that DOD evaluate the survivability of certain systems and the lethality of certain munitions before proceeding beyond low-rate initial production. This requirement is codified as Title 10, United States Code, Section 4172. Consequently, the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy are developing, acquiring, and deploying aerial targets for survivability and lethality testing-and for training military personnel-that are designed to represent a variety of aerial threats, ranging from UAS to sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missiles. Air Force Programs The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Aerial Targets Program Office manages the Air Force's aerial targets programs, the BQM-167A and QF-16. Additionally, the 82d Aerial Targets Squadron operates the Air Force's aerial targets for Air Force units, as well as for those used by the Army and Navy. Congress appropriated approximately $43.7 million in FY2025 procurement and research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) funding for the Air Force's aerial target programs. • BQM-167A Air Force Subscale Aerial Target (AFSAT). The BQM-167A (see Figure 1) is a recoverable subsonic aerial target designed primarily to simulate an air-to-air engagement. Composites Engineering Inc. (today Kratos Defense & Security Solutions) began developing the BQM-167A in 2000 for the Air Force's AFSAT program, which sought to replace the Cold War-era MQM-107 and BQM-34 target drones. Composites Engineering conducted the maiden flight of the BQM-167A in 2001, and the Air Force selected the aircraft for the AFSAT program the following year. The BQM-167A achieved initial operational capability in 2008. • QF-16 Full-Scale Aerial Target (FSAT). The QF-16, a converted Boeing F-16 Viper Block 15 fighter aircraft, is a remotely operated, recoverable, supersonic-capable aerial target designed to mimic fourth-generation fighter aircraft for air-to-air pilot training and missile development. The QF-16 program began in 2010, when the Air Force awarded Boeing a contract to convert the Vipers into target drones. The QF-16 replaced the previous FSAT, the QF-4, which was a converted F-4 Phantom. The Air Force declared in 2016 that the QF-16 had met initial operational capability; Boeing completed production of the aircraft in 2022. Figure I. BQM-167A Source: Photo by Sara L. Vidoni/U.S. Air Force. Army Programs The Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation's Threat Systems Management Office (TSMO) is responsible for providing aerial, surface, and virtual targets to the Army. Congress appropriated approximately $36.5 million in FY2025 procurement and RDT&E funding for the Army's aerial target programs. * MQM-170 Outlaw. The MQM-170 serves as the Army's Remotely Piloted Vehicle Target (RPVT). It is a https://crsreports.congress.gov