Supersonic UAV Nearly Ready To Be Shot Down

Composite Engineering Inc. of Sacramento, Calif., has announced the successful flight of its newest supersonic unmanned aerial target system, the . The aircraft achieved sustained supersonic flight Jan. 31, 2008, at the U.S. Navy Pt. Mugu Test Range. The aircraft is powered by a Microturbo turbojet and equipped with an avionics suite from Microsystems. CEi expects to complete its demonstration contract by the end of the Q1 2008. Sometime after that, the BQM-167X may be ready to be blown out of the sky, regularly — shot at and shot down as part of weapons and weapons systems projects. The BQM-167A aerial target system is currently used by the U.S. Air Force for all subscale target missions at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida.