Phase II Testing

From mid-1983 through mid-1984, components for the Automated Maneuvering Attack System and related avionics systems were installed into the AFTI/F-16 at GD in Fort Worth in preparation for the Phase II effort. Precision electrical-optical tracking pods were installed in the wing root area on both sides of the aircraft. First flight of the AFTI/F-16 in the AMAS configuration was on July 31, 1984, with Phase II flight-testing at Edwards beginning shortly after the aircraft returned to Dryden on August 6, 1984. Beginning in September 1984 and continuing through April 1987, improved sensors, integrated fire and flight control, and enhancements
in pilot-vehicle interface were evaluated. During Phase II testing, the system demonstrated automatic gun tracking of airborne targets and accurate delivery of unguided bombs during 5-g curvilinear toss bomb maneuvers from altitudes as low as 200 feet. An all-attitude automatic ground collision avoidance capability was demonstrated,[1185] as was the Voice Command System (for interfacing with the avionics system), a helmet-mounted sight (used for high off bore sight target cueing), and a digital terrain system with color moving map.[1186] The sortie rate dur­ing Phase II was very high. From the start of the AMAS tests in August 1984 to the completion of Phase II in early 1987, 226 flights were accom­plished, with 160 sorties being flown during 1986. To manage this high sortie rate, the ground maintenance crews worked a two-shift operation.

Follow-On AFTI/F-16 Testing

Following Phase II in 1987, the forward fuselage-mounted ventral fins were removed and the AFTI/F-16 was flown in support of other test efforts and new aircraft programs, such as evaluating strike technologies pro­posed for use in the next generation ground attack aircraft, which even­tually evolved into the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program.