USAF Faces Critical Target Shortfall

According to an article written by Robert Wall of Aviation Week and Space Technology and published in their September 30, 2002 issue, the Air Force has acknowledged that they are facing a critical shortfall in the number of available full scale and subscale airborne targets for testing modern air-to-air and other weapons.

According to the article, the stockpile of subscale targets could run out in 2006.  While the Air Force has contracted for additional subscale aerial targets, the requirements appear to outstrip the current production projections.

While most of the 40 or so targets lost per year by the Air Force are the result of live fire successes, it is assumed that some of the losses are due to target malfunctions and other causes during non-live fire tests.

The use of the SMART-1 in test and evaluation and training exercises by JCMD (Joint Cruise Missile Defense) suggests that small manned aerial targets might be very effective in filling some of the gaps caused by target shortages for non-live fire exercises and certain advanced weapons tracking system tests.  The SMART-1s are currently being considered for 6 programs in 2003.