EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc., Sacramento, Calif., will build BQM-167A Air Force Subscale Aerial Target (AFSAT) drones under terms of a potential $338.1 million U.S. Air Force contract announced Friday, John Keller reports for Military & Aerospace Electronics. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
August 11, 2021 -The BQM-167A supports missions with a several different internal and external payloads, including scoring, identification friend or foe (IFF), passive and active radar augmentation, electronic countermeasures, infrared plume pods, and internally stored chaff and flares.
The BQM-167A AFSAT is a high-performance, remotely controlled subscale aerial target drone that helps combat aircraft pilots prove the value of advanced air-to-air weapons. Kratos builds the BQM-167A of carbon fiber and epoxy-based materials that help increase performance and endurance compared to previous targets, which were built mainly of aluminum, Air Force officials say.
The BQM-167A can reach speeds from 230 to 600 knots true airspeed at sea level, and can perform G-turns to 9Gs, and other aerial acrobatic turns that emulate high-performance jet fighter aircraft.
Related: Air Force wants its XQ-58A Valkyrie drone to help F-22s and F-35s talk to each other
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
