Theres nothing like laying out on white talcom powder beaches at Tyndall AFB and watching Raptors taking off out over the Gulf of Mexico. I do miss the F15's which often flew along with F22's for air to air targeting of drones. I'm not sure if they're still using the QF4 Phantoms still but as you come off the bridge heading into Tyndall there are the recovery boats sitting there on the right, the Tyndall Navy.

These are the boats whose job it is to recover subscale aerial target drones in the Gulf waters, probably about 20-30 miles out, but at times the drones get lost, perhaps because of heavy seas and currents. Its not uncommon for these drones to be lost and sometimes wash up on Gulf beaches, the question is could some make it to Mexican beaches? In 2008 a drone washed up on an Alabama beach and the reallllly smart college students refered to it as an obvious "spy drone". Spy drone are NOT painted red. A couple years ago one washed up on Panama City Beach Russell-Fields City Pier. Theres been other incidents of wash ups.

Heres another drone that got away and made it all the way to the Keys; http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/18/do-you-know-what-this-odd-vessel-spotted-floating-in-the-florida-keys/

With the weather warming up and Spring break going on and fishing about to heat up, a word to all the drunken college students on the Gulf beaches...spy drones are not painted red.

i was there in the late 90's.  watched them change over from F106 drones to F4 drones.  no idea what they are using now.
I remember seeing these (or ones similiar) being towed behind aircraft for target practice.

technology is a little better now, but back then, they were packed with explosives "just in case".

"Spy drones are not painted red."

Perfect cover! "That's not a spy drone, spy drones are NOT painted red!"

Of course not. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT!

Some make it to Texas beaches.  I had the wings panels off of one as a fish-cleaning table in my backyard for years.

My buddy dragged home a center-line fuel tank off an F-4 once.

I almost hit a fucking drop tank in the gulf at night while underway. I was PISSED. It was like 90% sunk just air in the nose holding it up

We still have QF-4s in use here but their days are getting short.  The first QF-16 arrived here last November.

DERP






 

I did hear my family member mention the QF16s. Looks like budget cutbacks have put a hold on all the new airmen/women who were slated to move to Tyndall once they went ACC.