Civilian QF-4E Pilot/Controller Lt. Col. (Ret) Jim “WAM” Harkins, exits his McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, after a rehearsal for the final military flight and retirement ceremony for the storied aircraft at Holloman AFB, , Dec. 16, 2016. The final variant of the Phantom II was the QF-4 unmanned aerial targets flown by the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron Detachment 1 at Holloman AFB. The ceremonial flight was Harkins last in a cockpit for the Air Force; he will now be a ground controller for the QF-4's replacement, the QF-16. The F-4 Phantom II entered the Air Force inventory in 1963 an
Civilian QF-4E Pilot/Controller Lt. Col. (Ret) Jim “WAM” Harkins, exits his McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, after a rehearsal for the final military flight and retirement ceremony for the storied aircraft at Holloman AFB, , Dec. 16, 2016. The final variant of the Phantom II was the QF-4 unmanned aerial targets flown by the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron Detachment 1 at Holloman AFB. The ceremonial flight was Harkins last in a cockpit for the Air Force; he will now be a ground controller for the QF-4's replacement, the QF-16. The F-4 Phantom II entered the Air Force inventory in 1963 and was the primary multi-role aircraft in the USAF throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The F-4 flew bombing, combat air patrol, fighter escort, reconnaissance and the famous Wild Weasel anti-aircraft missile suppression missions.
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Keywords: afb, air, airman, archive, armed, defence, force, forces, holloman, ii, magazine, military, phantom, qf-4, reportage, servicemen, usa, vietnam
