BQM-167A
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The Composite Engineering BQM-167 Skeeter is a subscale aerial target (drone) developed and manufactured by Composite Engineering Inc. (acquired by
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc, headquartered in San Diego, California, is an American technology company with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military electronics. Customers include the U.S. federal government, foreign gove ...
) and operated by the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
and certain international customer air forces (designation BQM-167i). It replaced the
Beechcraft MQM-107 Streaker The Beechcraft MQM-107 Streaker is a reusable, turbojet powered, target drone, target towing drone primarily used by the United States Army and the United States Air Force for testing and training. The US Army uses the drone for testing various ...
.


Design and development

The BQM-167 was developed and manufactured by Composite Engineering Inc. (now part of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions), and is constructed of
carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...
and
epoxy Epoxy is the family of basic components or Curing (chemistry), cured end products of epoxy Resin, resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide fun ...
-based materials.BQM-167A Air Force Subscale Aerial Target
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
, 2009-05-20, accessed 2017-02-23
BQM-167A brochure
KratosUSD, accessed 2017-02-23
Two prototype targets were built and test flown in 2001. The BQM-167A was selected as the next-generation Air Force subscale aerial target in July 2002. A total of six targets were built for use during the flight performance demonstration (FPD) phase with its first flight 8 December 2004. A total of 13 FPD launches were made into March 2006. First acceptance testing was completed in August 2006, then pre-operational testing consisted of 13 test flights using production targets from August 2006 - June 2007. The first BQM-167 air-to-air missile live-fire mission took place 7 February 2007. Initial Operational Capability was achieved in 2008. Each target cost US$570,000.


Operational history

The
82nd Aerial Targets Squadron The 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group and stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The squadron (aviation), squadron was first activated as the 82nd Pursuit ...
operates and maintains the target at
Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (3 ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. The drone is land-launched using a rocket-assisted takeoff and launched from a rail system, and recovered on land or sea using a parachute system. After assessment and refurbishment, the drone is placed back into service. The USAF has had 37 in inventory. On 19 March 2021, a BQM-167 washed ashore in
Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about north of Miami. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded a population of 80,380. Boynton Beach is located in the Mi ...
after a weapon systems evaluation.


Variants


UTAP-22 Mako

On 23 November 2015, Kratos completed the second flight of its self-funded Unmanned Tactical Aerial Platform (UTAP-22), a development of the BQM-167A converted into a low-cost
unmanned combat aerial vehicle An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircra ...
(UCAV). The test involved collaborative airborne operations with a manned
AV-8B Harrier The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine Attack aircraft, ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier jump jet, Harrier family, capable of V/STOL, vertical or short takeoff and l ...
fighter for 94 minutes demonstrating command and control through a tactical
data-link A data link is a means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a receive ...
, autonomous formation flying with the AV-8B, and transfer of UTAP-22 control between operators in a tactical network and then to an independent control link. The 6.1 m (21 ft)-long turbojet-powered aircraft can travel at up to an altitude of with a maximum range of and an endurance of three hours. It can carry a internal payload, a external payload, and has a -capable weapon hardpoint on each wing. The platform is recoverable on land or at sea using a parachute system. In May 2017, the UTAP-22 received the official name Mako. The aircraft costs between $2-$3 million.


Operators

; *
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
. ;
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
*
Republic Of Singapore Air Force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establis ...
. ; *
Swedish Defence Materiel Administration The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It is located in Stockholm. D ...


Specifications


References


External links


Kratos BQM-167 page

Kratos UTAP-22 Mako page
{{US missiles Target drones of the United States Decoy missiles of the United States Single-engined jet aircraft Low-wing aircraft 2000s United States special-purpose aircraft Aircraft with auxiliary rocket engines BQM-167 Aircraft first flown in 2001