QF-16: How Boeing turns retired F-16s into ‘Zombie’ Vipers for US Air Force target practice
August 24, 2025
Since 2012, Boeing has been turning retired F-16s into so-called ‘Zombie Vipers,’ mindless unmanned machines for target practice.
The US Air Force has long used retired fighter jets as live-fire targets, a practice that delivers far more realistic training than sub-scale drones or computer simulations.
After decades of using converted F-100s, F-106s, and most famously the F-4 Phantom II as “full-scale aerial targets” (FSATs), the Air Force turned to the F-16 Fighting Falcon when Phantom stocks ran out.
The Zombie Viper allows the air force to test weapons, sensors, and tactics against an actual fighter-sized, supersonic jet, sometimes flying high-G defensive manoeuvres before being destroyed.
It’s an expensive way to say goodbye to retired airframes, but one that ensures America’s frontline weapons work against the kinds of threats they’re designed to counter.
How Boeing turns an F-16 into a “Zombie Viper”
The journey starts at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), the vast aircraft “boneyard” at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
Retired F-16s are selected, regenerated to flightworthy status, and ferried either to Boeing’s Cecil Field facility in Florida or to a second conversion line co-located at AMARG.
At Boeing, technicians install Drone-Peculiar Equipment (DPE), the specialist hardware and software that transform a Viper into a drone. Key additions include:
- A remote command-and-control system and autopilot.
- Telemetry and scoring systems to measure missile shots.
- A flight termination system to destroy the aircraft safely if needed.
Once converted, QF-16s are flown by the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Florida, and Detachment 1 at Holloman AFB, New Mexico.
They can fly optionally manned (with a pilot aboard for safety) or fully unmanned, controlled from the ground via the Gulf Range Drone Control System or White Sands’ networks.
They’re used to validate weapons like AIM-9X and AIM-120 missiles, rehearse integrated air-defence drills, and stress-test US and allied tactics.
The USAF is demanding more QF-16s
Boeing received its first development contract in 2010, and production deliveries began in 2015. Since then, the company has delivered dozens of conversions, sustaining a fleet of around 90 QF-16s.
In June 2025, Boeing was awarded a further $10.25 million contract for additional modifications, with the Air Force planning to keep the QF-16 fleet flying until at least 2035.
Each year, some aircraft are deliberately destroyed during live-fire exercises, so continuous regeneration and conversion is necessary to maintain numbers.
Not every retired F-16 becomes a Zombie Viper
While many retired Vipers end up as target drones, a select few are being converted for more experimental purposes.
Under Project VENOM (Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model – Autonomy Flying Testbed), six F-16s are being modified as testbeds for artificial intelligence and autonomous flight systems.
VENOM is not about target practice but about helping the Air Force develop Collaborative Combat Aircraft — the next generation of drones designed to fly alongside manned fighters.
The first VENOM jets were delivered to the 96th Test Wing and 53rd Wing at Eglin AFB in 2024, and testing is already underway.
Together, the QF-16 and VENOM projects highlight two very different afterlives for America’s most prolific fighter, one where they are expended in flame to sharpen today’s weapons, and one where they become testbeds shaping the tactics of tomorrow.
