Air-to-ground missile launched from drone
by Airman 1st Class Rachel Kocin
49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
1/21/2008 - HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- For the first
time, an air-to-ground missile was launched from a full-scale
aerial target drone, or FSAT. The test was performed Jan. 9 by
Airmen here with Detachment 1 of the 82nd Aerial Targets
Squadron.
The FSAT is an unmanned QF-4 Phantom drone that was operated by
remote control from a ground station, said Maj. John Markle, the
detachment's operations officer.
"This is the first air-to-ground missile fired off an
unmanned full-scale aerial target," said Major Markle. "This test
is an important part of the Det. 1 mission because it increases
survivability of our Airmen going against (surface-to-air missile)
threats. Furthermore, it's the first time the drone has been able
to shoot back.
"It makes airpower more lethal," said Major Markle. "This is a new
high-speed, anti-radiation missile the Navy designed to defeat SAM
threats; overall this mission is going to benefit the Department of
Defense."
"With this successful test, we have pioneered a new venue to test
forward-firing ordnance without risk to valuable air assets or crew
members," said Lt. Col. Joel Rush, Det. 1's commander.
The detachment is currently testing F-35 Lightning components, and
has conducted tests for the F-22 Raptor as well as the Patriot and
HAWK SAM systems.
I think that we can use our A-4(assuming we have some left as
war reserves) as the unmanned drone.
As for age of the A-4 air frame its not really an issue as the
Phantom itself is as old if not older. Both aircraft types
participated in the Vietnam war and our version of the A-4 is the
most advanced of its kind. Thus modification and integration of
remote control flying systems should not be that much of a
problem.