U.S. testing unmanned F-16 fighter jets retrofitted as drones to train pilots

Boeing has revealed that the United States Air Force is testing its retrofitted F-16 fighter jets as drones for training pilots.

Two U.S. Air Force pilots controlled an unmanned Lockheed Martin F-16 jet on its first flight from a Florida base to the Gulf of Mexico last week, the BBC reports.

Boeing suggested that the innovation could ultimately be used to help train pilots, providing an adversary they could practise firing on.

The jet, which previously sat at an Arizona site for 15 years, carried out a series of manoeuvres on its first flight.

The plane was followed by two chase planes and was able to self-destruct if anything went wrong,

Boeing said that it has six such modified F-16s, which have been renamed QF-16s, and that the U.S. military is planning to use some of them in live fire tests.