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The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
originally developed by
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
for the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
(USAF). Designed as an
air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
day fighter A day fighter is a fighter aircraft equipped only to fight during the day. More specifically, it refers to a multi-purpose aircraft that does not include equipment for fighting at night (such as a radar and specialized avionics), although it is some ...
, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,600 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no longer being purchased by the U.S. Air Force, improved versions are being built for export customers. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the
Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...
, which in turn became part of
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. The Fighting Falcon's key features include a frameless
bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; s ...
for good visibility, side-mounted control stick to ease control while maneuvering, an
ejection seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the aircraft pilot, pilot or other aircrew, crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an ex ...
reclined 30 degrees from vertical to reduce the effect of
g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...
s on the
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
, and the first use of a
relaxed static stability In aviation, relaxed stability refers to an aircraft with low or negative stability. An aircraft with negative stability will have a tendency to change its pitch and bank angles spontaneously. An aircraft with negative stability cannot be trim ...
/
fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control co ...
flight control system that helps to make it an agile aircraft. The F-16 has an internal
M61 Vulcan The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires rounds at an extremely high rate (typically 6,000 rounds per minute). The M61 and its ...
cannon and 11 locations for mounting weapons and other mission equipment. The F-16's official name is "Fighting Falcon", but "Viper" is commonly used by its pilots and crews, because of a perceived resemblance to a
viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
snake as well as to the fictional Colonial Viper starfighter from the television program ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...
'' which aired at the time the F-16 entered service.Aleshire 2005, p. xxii. In addition to active duty in the U.S. Air Force,
Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...
, and
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
units, the aircraft is also used by the
U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds") is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953, the USAF Th ...
aerial demonstration team, and as an adversary/aggressor aircraft by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. The F-16 has also been procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations.Stout, Joe and Laurie Quincy
"United States Government Awards Lockheed Martin Contract to Begin Production of Advanced F-16 Aircraft for Morocco."
''Lockheed Martin press release'', 8 June 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
As of 2015, it was the world's most numerous
fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...
in military service.


Development


Lightweight Fighter program

Experiences in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
revealed the need for
air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
fighters and better air-to-air training for fighter pilots. Based on his experiences in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and as a fighter tactics instructor in the early 1960s, Colonel John Boyd with mathematician
Thomas Christie Thomas Christie (1761–1796) was a Scottish radical political writer during the late 18th century. He was one of the two original founders of the important liberal journal, the ''Analytical Review''. Life Christie was born to Alexander Chris ...
developed the
energy–maneuverability theory Energy–maneuverability theory is a model of aircraft performance. It was developed by Col. John Boyd, a fighter pilot, and Thomas P. Christie, a mathematician with the United States Air Force, and is useful in describing an aircraft's performan ...
to model a fighter aircraft's performance in combat. Boyd's work called for a small, lightweight aircraft that could maneuver with the minimum possible energy loss and which also incorporated an increased
thrust-to-weight ratio Thrust-to-weight ratio is a dimensionless ratio of thrust to weight of a rocket, jet engine, propeller engine, or a vehicle propelled by such an engine that is an indicator of the performance of the engine or vehicle. The instantaneous thrust-to-w ...
.Hillaker, Harry. ''Code One: An Airpower Projection Magazine'', April/July 1997. Retrieved 21 August 2011. In the late 1960s, Boyd gathered a group of like-minded innovators who became known as the
Fighter Mafia The Fighter Mafia was a controversial group of U.S. Air Force officers and civilian defense analysts who, in the 1960s and 1970s, advocated for fighter design criteria in opposition to those of the design boards of the time. Their assertions includ ...
, and in 1969, they secured
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
funding for General Dynamics and Northrop to study design concepts based on the theory. Air Force F-X proponents remained hostile to the concept because they perceived it as a threat to the
F-15 The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
program, but the USAF's leadership understood that its budget would not allow it to purchase enough F-15 aircraft to satisfy all of its missions. The Advanced Day Fighter concept, renamed ''F-XX'', gained civilian political support under the reform-minded Deputy Secretary of Defense
David Packard David Packard ( ; September 7, 1912 – March 26, 1996) was an American electrical engineer and co-founder, with Bill Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard (1939), serving as president (1947–64), CEO (1964–68), and chairman of the board (1964–6 ...
, who favored the idea of competitive
prototyping A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...
. As a result, in May 1971, the Air Force Prototype Study Group was established, with Boyd a key member, and two of its six proposals would be funded, one being the
Lightweight Fighter The Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program was a United States Air Force technology evaluation program initiated in the late 1960s by a group of officers and defense analysts known as the "Fighter Mafia". It was spurred by then-Major John Boyd (milit ...
(LWF). The request for proposals issued on 6 January 1972 called for a class air-to-air day fighter with a good turn rate, acceleration, and range, and optimized for combat at speeds of Mach 0.6–1.6 and altitudes of . This was the region where USAF studies predicted most future air combat would occur. The anticipated average flyaway cost of a production version was $3 million. This production plan, though, was only notional, as the USAF had no firm plans to procure the winner.


Selection of finalists and flyoff

Five companies responded, and in 1972, the Air Staff selected General Dynamics' Model 401 and Northrop's P-600 for the follow-on prototype development and testing phase. GD and Northrop were awarded contracts worth $37.9 million and $39.8 million to produce the YF-16 and
YF-17 The Northrop YF-17 (nicknamed "Cobra") is a prototype lightweight fighter aircraft designed by Northrop aviation for the United States Air Force's Lightweight Fighter (LWF) technology evaluation program. The LWF was initiated because many in t ...
, respectively, with the first flights of both prototypes planned for early 1974. To overcome resistance in the Air Force hierarchy, the
Fighter Mafia The Fighter Mafia was a controversial group of U.S. Air Force officers and civilian defense analysts who, in the 1960s and 1970s, advocated for fighter design criteria in opposition to those of the design boards of the time. Their assertions includ ...
and other LWF proponents successfully advocated the idea of complementary fighters in a high-cost/low-cost force mix. The "high/low mix" would allow the USAF to be able to afford sufficient fighters for its overall fighter force structure requirements. The mix gained broad acceptance by the time of the prototypes' flyoff, defining the relationship of the LWF and the F-15. The YF-16 was developed by a team of General Dynamics engineers led by Robert H. Widmer. The first YF-16 was rolled out on 13 December 1973. Its 90-minute
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
was made at the Air Force Flight Test Center at
Edwards AFB Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Ed ...
, California, on 2 February 1974. Its actual first flight occurred accidentally during a high-speed taxi test on 20 January 1974. While gathering speed, a roll-control oscillation caused a fin of the port-side wingtip-mounted missile and then the starboard
stabilator A stabilator is a fully movable aircraft horizontal stabilizer. It serves the usual functions of longitudinal stability, control and stick force requirements otherwise performed by the separate parts of a conventional horizontal stabilizer and el ...
to scrape the ground, and the aircraft then began to veer off the runway. The test pilot,
Phil Oestricher Philip F. Oestricher (1931 – December 18, 2015) was an American aerodynamics engineer and test pilot. He made both the unscheduled first flight of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon on January 20, 1974 and its official first flight on Fe ...
, decided to lift off to avoid a potential crash, safely landing six minutes later. The slight damage was quickly repaired and the official first flight occurred on time. The YF-16's first supersonic flight was accomplished on 5 February 1974, and the second YF-16 prototype first flew on 9 May 1974. This was followed by the first flights of Northrop's YF-17 prototypes on 9 June and 21 August 1974, respectively. During the fly off, the YF-16s completed 330
sorties A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...
for a total of 417 flight hours; the YF-17s flew 288 sorties, covering 345 hours.


Air Combat Fighter competition

Increased interest turned the LWF into a serious acquisition program.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
(NATO) allies Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway were seeking to replace their
F-104G Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of ...
fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
s. In early 1974, they reached an agreement with the U.S. that if the USAF ordered the LWF winner, they would consider ordering it as well. The USAF also needed to replace its
F-105 Thunderchief The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...
and
F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
fighter-bombers. The U.S. Congress sought greater commonality in fighter procurements by the Air Force and Navy, and in August 1974 redirected Navy funds to a new Navy Air Combat Fighter program that would be a navalized fighter-bomber variant of the LWF. The four NATO allies had formed the Multinational Fighter Program Group (MFPG) and pressed for a U.S. decision by December 1974; thus, the USAF accelerated testing. To reflect this serious intent to procure a new fighter-bomber, the LWF program was rolled into a new Air Combat Fighter (ACF) competition in an announcement by U.S. Secretary of Defense
James R. Schlesinger James Rodney Schlesinger (February 15, 1929 – March 27, 2014) was an American economist and public servant who was best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior ...
in April 1974. The ACF would not be a pure fighter, but multi-role, and Schlesinger made it clear that any ACF order would be in addition to the F-15, which extinguished opposition to the LWF.Richardson 1990, p. 14.Peacock 1997, pp. 12–13. ACF also raised the stakes for GD and Northrop because it brought in competitors intent on securing what was touted at the time as "the arms deal of the century". These were Dassault-Breguet's proposed Mirage F1M-53, the Anglo-French
SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force. Originall ...
, and the proposed Saab 37E "Eurofighter". Northrop offered the P-530 Cobra, which was similar to the YF-17. The Jaguar and Cobra were dropped by the MFPG early on, leaving two European and two U.S. candidates. On 11 September 1974, the U.S. Air Force confirmed plans to order the winning ACF design to equip five tactical fighter wings. Though computer modeling predicted a close contest, the YF-16 proved significantly quicker going from one maneuver to the next and was the unanimous choice of those pilots that flew both aircraft. On 13 January 1975,
Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
John L. McLucas John Luther McLucas (August 22, 1920 – December 1, 2002) was United States Secretary of the Air Force from 1973 to 1975, becoming Secretary of the Air Force on July 19, 1973. He had been Acting Secretary of the Air Force since May 15, 1973, and U ...
announced the YF-16 as the winner of the ACF competition. The chief reasons given by the secretary were the YF-16's lower operating costs, greater range, and maneuver performance that was "significantly better" than that of the YF-17, especially at supersonic speeds. Another advantage of the YF-16 – unlike the YF-17 – was its use of the
Pratt & Whitney F100 The Pratt & Whitney F100 (company designation JTF22) is an afterburning turbofan engine manufactured by Pratt & Whitney that powers the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Development In 1967, the United States Navy and United States Air Force ...
turbofan engine, the same
powerplant Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...
used by the F-15; such commonality would lower the cost of engines for both programs. Secretary McLucas announced that the USAF planned to order at least 650, possibly up to 1,400 production F-16s. In the Navy Air Combat Fighter competition, on 2 May 1975 the Navy selected the YF-17 as the basis for what would become the
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now p ...
.


Commencement of production

The U.S. Air Force initially ordered 15 full-scale development (FSD) aircraft (11 single-seat and four two-seat models) for its flight test program, but was reduced to eight (six F-16A single-seaters and two F-16B two-seaters).Darling 2003, p. 17. The YF-16 design was altered for the production F-16. The fuselage was lengthened by , a larger nose radome was fitted for the
AN/APG-66 The AN/APG-66 radar is a solid state medium range (up to 150 km) pulse-Doppler planar array radar originally designed by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation (now Northrop Grumman) for use in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. This radar was emplo ...
radar, wing area was increased from to , the tailfin height was decreased, the ventral fins were enlarged, two more stores stations were added, and a single door replaced the original nosewheel double doors. The F-16's weight was increased by 25% over the YF-16 by these modifications. The FSD F-16s were manufactured by General Dynamics in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, at United States Air Force Plant 4 in late 1975; the first F-16A rolled out on 20 October 1976 and first flew on 8 December. The initial two-seat model achieved its first flight on 8 August 1977. The initial production-standard F-16A flew for the first time on 7 August 1978 and its delivery was accepted by the USAF on 6 January 1979. The F-16 was given its name of "Fighting Falcon" on 21 July 1980, entering USAF operational service with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, at
Hill AFB Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent t ...
in Utah, on 1 October 1980. On 7 June 1975, the four European partners, now known as the European Participation Group, signed up for 348 aircraft at the
Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
. This was split among the European Participation Air Forces (EPAF) as 116 for Belgium, 58 for Denmark, 102 for the Netherlands, and 72 for Norway. Two European production lines, one in the Netherlands at
Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...
's Schiphol-Oost facility and the other at SABCA's
Gosselies Gosselies ( wa, Gochliye) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Located in the north of Charleroi, it was a city and a municipality of its own before the merger of the ...
plant in Belgium, would produce 184 and 164 units respectively. Norway's Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk and Denmark's
Terma A/S Terma A/S is a Danish weapon and aerospace manufacturer for both civilian and military applications, and is owned by the Danish company Thrige Holding A/S. It is Denmark's largest company within the aerospace and weapon industry, employing approx ...
also manufactured parts and subassemblies for EPAF aircraft. European co-production was officially launched on 1 July 1977 at the Fokker factory. Beginning in November 1977, Fokker-produced components were sent to Fort Worth for fuselage assembly, then shipped back to Europe for final assembly of EPAF aircraft at the Belgian plant on 15 February 1978; deliveries to the
Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...
began in January 1979. The first
Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...
aircraft was delivered in June 1979. In 1980, the first aircraft were delivered to the
Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...
by SABCA and to the
Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...
by Fokker. During the late 1980s and 1990s,
Turkish Aerospace Industries Turkish Aerospace Inc. ( tr, Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş., TUSAŞ) is the center of technology in design, development, manufacturing, integration of aerospace systems, modernization and after sales support in Turkey. Located in Ankara ...
(TAI) produced 232
Block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
30/40/50 F-16s on a production line in Ankara under license for the
Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...
. TAI also produced 46 Block 40s for Egypt in the mid-1990s and 30 Block 50s from 2010.
Korean Aerospace Industries Korea Aerospace Industries (Korean: 한국항공우주산업, Hanja: 韓國航空宇宙産業) (KAI) is a South Korean aerospace and defense company. It was originally established as a joint venture of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries' ...
opened a production line for the KF-16 program, producing 140 Block 52s from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s (decade). If India had selected the F-16IN for its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft procurement, a sixth F-16 production line would have been built in India."Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon." ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft'', updated 21 January 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2008. In May 2013, Lockheed Martin stated there were currently enough orders to keep producing the F-16 until 2017.


Improvements and upgrades

One change made during production was augmented pitch control to avoid
deep stall In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', p. 486. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. This occurs when t ...
conditions at high angles of attack. The stall issue had been raised during development but had originally been discounted. Model tests of the YF-16 conducted by the
Langley Research Center The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, United States of America, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. It directly borders Langley Air Force Base and the Back River on the Chesapeake Bay. LaRC has fo ...
revealed a potential problem, but no other laboratory was able to duplicate it. YF-16 flight tests were not sufficient to expose the issue; later flight testing on the FSD aircraft demonstrated a real concern. In response, the area of each horizontal stabilizer was increased by 25% on the Block 15 aircraft in 1981 and later retrofitted to earlier aircraft. In addition, a manual override switch to disable the horizontal stabilizer flight limiter was prominently placed on the control console, allowing the pilot to regain control of the horizontal stabilizers (which the flight limiters otherwise lock in place) and recover. Besides reducing the risk of deep stalls, the larger horizontal tail also improved stability and permitted faster takeoff rotation.Darling 2003, p. 56. In the 1980s, the Multinational Staged Improvement Program (MSIP) was conducted to evolve the F-16's capabilities, mitigate risks during technology development, and ensure the aircraft's worth. The program upgraded the F-16 in three stages. The MSIP process permitted the quick introduction of new capabilities, at lower costs and with reduced risks compared to traditional independent upgrade programs. In 2012, the USAF had allocated $2.8 billion to upgrade 350 F-16s while waiting for the F-35 to enter service. One key upgrade has been an auto-GCAS ( Ground collision avoidance system) to reduce instances of
controlled flight into terrain In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an aviation accidents and incidents, accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under aircraft pilot, pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of ...
. Onboard power and cooling capacities limit the scope of upgrades, which often involve the addition of more power-hungry avionics. Lockheed won many contracts to upgrade foreign operators' F-16s. BAE Systems also offers various F-16 upgrades, receiving orders from South Korea, Oman, Turkey, and the US Air National Guard; BAE lost the South Korean contract because of a price breach in November 2014. In 2012, the USAF assigned the total upgrade contract to Lockheed Martin. Upgrades include Raytheon's Center Display Unit, which replaces several analog flight instruments with a single digital display. In 2013, sequestration budget cuts cast doubt on the USAF's ability to complete the Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite (CAPES), a part of secondary programs such as Taiwan's F-16 upgrade.
Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...
's General Mike Hostage stated that if he only had money for a service life extension program (SLEP) or CAPES, he would fund SLEP to keep the aircraft flying. Lockheed Martin responded to talk of CAPES cancellation with a fixed-price upgrade package for foreign users. CAPES was not included in the Pentagon's 2015 budget request. The USAF said that the upgrade package will still be offered to Taiwan's
Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based i ...
, and Lockheed said that some common elements with the F-35 will keep the radar's unit costs down. In 2014, the USAF issued a RFI to SLEP 300 F-16 C/Ds.


Production relocation

To make more room for assembly of its newer
F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...
fighter aircraft, Lockheed Martin moved the F-16 production from Fort Worth, Texas to its plant in
Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...
. Lockheed delivered the last F-16 from Fort Worth to the
Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...
on 14 November 2017, ending 40 years of F-16 production there. The company resumed production in 2019, though engineering and modernization work will remain in Fort Worth. A gap in orders made it possible to stop production during the move; after completing orders for the last Iraqi purchase, the company was negotiating an F-16 sale to
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
that would be produced in Greenville. This contract was signed in June 2018.


Design


Overview

The F-16 is a single-engine, highly maneuverable, supersonic, multi-role tactical fighter aircraft. It is much smaller and lighter than its predecessors but uses advanced
aerodynamics Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
and avionics, including the first use of a
relaxed static stability In aviation, relaxed stability refers to an aircraft with low or negative stability. An aircraft with negative stability will have a tendency to change its pitch and bank angles spontaneously. An aircraft with negative stability cannot be trim ...
/
fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control co ...
(RSS/FBW) flight control system, to achieve enhanced maneuver performance. Highly agile, the F-16 was the first fighter aircraft purpose-built to pull 9-''g'' maneuvers and can reach a maximum speed of over Mach 2. Innovations include a frameless
bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; s ...
for better visibility, a side-mounted control stick, and a reclined seat to reduce
g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...
effects on the pilot. It is armed with an internal
M61 Vulcan The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires rounds at an extremely high rate (typically 6,000 rounds per minute). The M61 and its ...
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
in the left wing root and has multiple locations for mounting various missiles, bombs and pods. It has a thrust-to-weight ratio greater than one, providing power to climb and vertical acceleration. The F-16 was designed to be relatively inexpensive to build and simpler to maintain than earlier-generation fighters. The airframe is built with about 80% aviation-grade aluminum alloys, 8% steel, 3% composites, and 1.5%
titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
. The leading-edge flaps,
stabilator A stabilator is a fully movable aircraft horizontal stabilizer. It serves the usual functions of longitudinal stability, control and stick force requirements otherwise performed by the separate parts of a conventional horizontal stabilizer and el ...
s, and ventral fins make use of bonded aluminum
honeycomb structure Honeycomb structures are natural or man-made Structure, structures that have the geometry of a honeycomb to allow the minimization of the amount of used material to reach minimal weight and minimal Material costs, material cost. The geometry of ...
s and
graphite epoxy Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), ...
lamination Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials ...
coatings A coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the substrate. The purpose of applying the coating may be decorative, functional, or both. Coatings may be applied as liquids, gases or solids e.g. Powder ...
. The number of lubrication points, fuel line connections, and replaceable modules is significantly lower than preceding fighters; 80% of the access panels can be accessed without stands. The air intake was placed so it was rearward of the nose but forward enough to minimize air flow losses and reduce
aerodynamic drag In fluid dynamics, drag (sometimes called air resistance, a type of friction, or fluid resistance, another type of friction or fluid friction) is a force acting opposite to the relative motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fl ...
. Although the LWF program called for a structural life of 4,000 flight hours, capable of achieving 7.33 ''g'' with 80% internal fuel; GD's engineers decided to design the F-16's airframe life for 8,000 hours and for 9-''g'' maneuvers on full internal fuel. This proved advantageous when the aircraft's mission changed from solely air-to-air combat to multi-role operations. Changes in operational use and additional systems have increased weight, necessitating multiple structural strengthening programs.Richardson 1990, p. 10.


General configuration

The F-16 has a cropped-
delta wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ). Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
incorporating wing-fuselage blending and forebody
vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...
-control strakes; a fixed-geometry, underslung air intake (with splitter plate) to the single turbofan jet engine; a conventional tri-plane
empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...
arrangement with all-moving horizontal "
stabilator A stabilator is a fully movable aircraft horizontal stabilizer. It serves the usual functions of longitudinal stability, control and stick force requirements otherwise performed by the separate parts of a conventional horizontal stabilizer and el ...
" tailplanes; a pair of ventral fins beneath the fuselage aft of the wing's trailing edge; and a tricycle
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
configuration with the aft-retracting, steerable nose gear deploying a short distance behind the inlet lip. There is a boom-style
aerial refueling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...
receptacle located behind the single-piece "bubble" canopy of the cockpit. Split-flap speedbrakes are located at the aft end of the wing-body fairing, and a
tailhook A tailhook, arresting hook, or arrester hook is a device attached to the empennage (rear) of some military fixed-wing aircraft. The hook is used to achieve rapid deceleration during routine landings aboard aircraft carrier flight decks at sea ...
is mounted underneath the fuselage. A fairing beneath the rudder often houses ECM equipment or a
drag chute A drogue parachute is a parachute designed for deployment from a rapidly-moving object. It can be used for various purposes, such as to decrease speed, to provide control and stability, or as a pilot parachute to deploy a larger parachute. V ...
. Later F-16 models feature a long dorsal fairing along the fuselage's "spine", housing additional equipment or fuel. Aerodynamic studies in the 1960s demonstrated that the "
vortex lift Vortex lift is that portion of lift due to the action of leading edge vortices. It is generated by wings with highly sweptback, sharp, leading edges (beyond 50 degrees of sweep) or highly-swept wing-root extensions added to a wing of moderate swe ...
" phenomenon could be harnessed by highly
swept wing A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...
configurations to reach higher
angles of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...
, using
leading edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...
vortex flow off a slender lifting surface. As the F-16 was being optimized for high combat agility, GD's designers chose a slender cropped-delta wing with a leading-edge sweep of 40° and a straight trailing edge. To improve maneuverability, a variable-camber wing with a NACA 64A-204
airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...
was selected; the camber is adjusted by leading-edge and trailing edge
flaperon A flaperon (a portmanteau of flap and aileron) on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufacture, while s ...
s linked to a digital
flight control system A conventional Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction ...
regulating the
flight envelope In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft or spacecraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or atmospheric density, often simplified to altitude. The t ...
. The F-16 has a moderate wing loading, reduced by fuselage lift. The vortex lift effect is increased by leading-edge extensions, known as strakes. Strakes act as additional short-span, triangular wings running from the
wing root The wing root is the part of the wing on a fixed-wing aircraft or winged-spaceship that is closest to the fuselage,Peppler, I.L.: ''From The Ground Up'', page 9. Aviation Publishers Co. Limited, Ottawa Ontario, Twenty Seventh Revised Edition, 1996 ...
(the junction with fuselage) to a point further forward on the fuselage. Blended into the fuselage and along the wing root, the strake generates a high-speed vortex that remains attached to the top of the wing as the angle of attack increases, generating additional lift and allowing greater angles of attack without stalling. Strakes allow a smaller, lower- aspect-ratio wing, which increases roll rates and
directional stability Directional stability is stability of a moving body or vehicle about an axis which is perpendicular to its direction of motion. Stability of a vehicle concerns itself with the tendency of a vehicle to return to its original direction in relation ...
while decreasing weight. Deeper wing roots also increase structural strength and internal fuel volume.


Armament

Early F-16s could be armed with up to six
AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prov ...
heat-seeking short-range
air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
s (AAM) by employing rail launchers on each wingtip, as well as radar-guided
AIM-7 Sparrow The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps, as well as other various air forces ...
medium-range AAMs in a weapons mix.Spick 2000, pp. 226–228, 232. More recent versions support the
AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employs ...
, and US aircraft often mount that missile on their wingtips to reduce wing flutter. The aircraft can carry various other AAMs, a wide variety of air-to-ground missiles, rockets or bombs; electronic countermeasures (ECM), navigation, targeting or weapons pods; and fuel tanks on 9
hardpoint A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on the ...
s – six under the wings, two on wingtips, and one under the fuselage. Two other locations under the fuselage are available for sensor or radar pods. The F-16 carries a 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan cannon, which is mounted inside the fuselage to the left of the cockpit.


Negative stability and fly-by-wire

The F-16 is the first production fighter aircraft intentionally designed to be slightly aerodynamically unstable, also known as
relaxed static stability In aviation, relaxed stability refers to an aircraft with low or negative stability. An aircraft with negative stability will have a tendency to change its pitch and bank angles spontaneously. An aircraft with negative stability cannot be trim ...
(RSS), to improve maneuverability.Frawley 2002, p. 114. Most aircraft are designed with positive static stability, which induces aircraft to return to straight and level flight
attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...
if the pilot releases the controls; this reduces maneuverability as the inherent stability has to be overcome. Aircraft with ''negative'' stability are designed to deviate from controlled flight and are thus more maneuverable. At supersonic speeds the F-16 gains stability (eventually positive) because of aerodynamic changes. To counter the tendency to depart from controlled flight and avoid the need for constant trim inputs by the pilot, the F-16 has a quadruplex (four-channel)
fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control co ...
(FBW)
flight control system A conventional Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction ...
(FLCS). The flight control computer (FLCC) accepts pilot input from the stick and rudder controls and manipulates the control surfaces in such a way as to produce the desired result without inducing control loss. The FLCC conducts thousands of measurements per second on the aircraft's flight attitude to automatically counter deviations from the pilot-set flight path; leading to a common aphorism among pilots: "You don't fly an F-16; it flies you." The FLCC further incorporates limiters governing movement in the three main axes based on attitude, airspeed and angle of attack (AOA); these prevent control surfaces from inducing instability such as
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or skids, or a high AOA inducing a stall. The limiters also prevent maneuvers that would exert more than a 9 ''g'' load. Flight testing has revealed that "assaulting" multiple limiters at high AOA and low speed can result in an AOA far exceeding the 25° limit, colloquially referred to as "departing"; this causes a deep stall; a near-freefall at 50° to 60° AOA, either upright or inverted. While at a very high AOA, the aircraft's attitude is stable but control surfaces are ineffective. The pitch limiter locks the stabilators at an extreme pitch-up or pitch-down attempting to recover. This can be overridden so the pilot can "rock" the nose via pitch control to recover. Unlike the YF-17, which had hydromechanical controls serving as a backup to the FBW, General Dynamics took the innovative step of eliminating mechanical linkages from the control stick and rudder pedals to the
flight control surface Aircraft flight control surfaces are aerodynamic devices allowing a pilot to adjust and control the aircraft's flight attitude. Development of an effective set of flight control surfaces was a critical advance in the development of aircraft. Ea ...
s. The F-16 is entirely reliant on its electrical systems to relay flight commands, instead of traditional mechanically linked controls, leading to the early moniker of "the electric jet". The quadruplex design permits "
graceful degradation Fault tolerance is the property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of one or more faults within some of its components. If its operating quality decreases at all, the decrease is proportional to the ...
" in flight control response in that the loss of one channel renders the FLCS a "triplex" system. The FLCC began as an analog system on the A/B variants but has been supplanted by a digital computer system beginning with the F-16C/D Block 40. The F-16's controls suffered from a sensitivity to static electricity or electrostatic discharge (ESD). Up to 70–80% of the C/D models' electronics were vulnerable to ESD.


Cockpit and ergonomics

A key feature of the F-16's cockpit is the exceptional field of view. The single-piece, Bird strike, bird-proof polycarbonate bubble canopy provides 360° all-round visibility, with a 40° look-down angle over the side of the aircraft, and 15° down over the nose (compared to the common 12–13° of preceding aircraft); the pilot's seat is elevated for this purpose. Furthermore, the F-16's canopy lacks the forward bow frame found on many fighters, which is an obstruction to a pilot's forward vision. The F-16's Ejection seat#Egress systems, ACES II Zero-zero ejection seat, zero/zero ejection seat is reclined at an unusual tilt-back angle of 30°; most fighters have a tilted seat at 13–15°. The tilted seat can accommodate taller pilots and increases ''g''-force tolerance; however, it has been associated with reports of neck ache, possibly caused by incorrect head-rest usage. Subsequent U.S. fighters have adopted more modest tilt-back angles of 20°. Because of the seat angle and the canopy's thickness, the ejection seat lacks canopy-breakers for emergency egress; instead the entire canopy is jettisoned prior to the seat's rocket firing. The pilot flies primarily by means of an armrest-mounted side-stick controller (instead of a traditional Centre stick, center-mounted stick) and an engine throttle; conventional rudder pedals are also employed. To enhance the pilot's degree of control of the aircraft during high-''g'' combat maneuvers, various switches and function controls were moved to centralized HOTAS, hands on throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls upon both the controllers and the throttle. Hand pressure on the side-stick controller is transmitted by electrical signals via the FBW system to adjust various flight control surfaces to maneuver the F-16. Originally, the side-stick controller was non-moving, but this proved uncomfortable and difficult for pilots to adjust to, sometimes resulting in a tendency to "over-rotate" during takeoffs, so the control stick was given a small amount of "play". Since the introduction of the F-16, HOTAS controls have become a standard feature on modern fighters. The F-16 has a head-up display (HUD), which projects visual flight and combat information in front of the pilot without obstructing the view; being able to keep their head "out of the cockpit" improves the pilot's situation awareness. Further flight and systems information are displayed on multi-function displays (MFD). The left-hand MFD is the primary flight display (PFD), typically showing radar and moving-maps; the right-hand MFD is the system display (SD), presenting information about the engine, landing gear, slat and flap settings, and fuel and weapons status. Initially, the F-16A/B had monochrome cathode ray tube (CRT) displays; replaced by color liquid-crystal displays on the Block 50/52. The Mid-life Update (MLU) introduced compatibility with night vision device, night-vision goggles (NVG). The Boeing Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) is available from Block 40 onwards, for targeting based on where the pilot's head faces, unrestricted by the HUD, using high-gun harmonisation, off-boresight missiles like the AIM-9X.


Fire-control radar

The F-16A/B was originally equipped with the Westinghouse Electronic Systems, Westinghouse
AN/APG-66 The AN/APG-66 radar is a solid state medium range (up to 150 km) pulse-Doppler planar array radar originally designed by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation (now Northrop Grumman) for use in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. This radar was emplo ...
fire-control radar. Its slotted planar array antenna was designed to be compact to fit into the F-16's relatively small nose. In uplook mode, the APG-66 uses a low Pulse repetition frequency, pulse-repetition frequency (PRF) for medium- and high-altitude target detection in a low-Clutter (radar), clutter environment, and in look-down/shoot-down employs a medium PRF for heavy clutter environments. It has four operating frequencies within the X band, and provides four air-to-air and seven air-to-ground operating modes for combat, even at night or in bad weather. The Block 15's APG-66(V)2 model added a more powerful signal processing, higher output power, improved reliability and increased range in cluttered or Radar jamming and deception, jamming environments. The Mid-Life Update (MLU) program introduced a new model, APG-66(V)2A, which features higher speed and more memory. The AN/APG-68, an evolution of the APG-66, was introduced with the F-16C/D Block 25. The APG-68 has greater range and resolution, as well as 25 operating modes, including ground-mapping, Doppler beam-sharpening, ground moving target indication, sea target, and track while scan (TWS) for up to 10 targets. The Block 40/42's APG-68(V)1 model added full compatibility with Lockheed Martin LANTIRN, Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infra-Red for Night (LANTIRN) pods, and a high-PRF pulse-Doppler track mode to provide Interrupted Continuous Wave guidance for semi-active radar homing, semi-active radar-homing (SARH) missiles like the
AIM-7 Sparrow The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps, as well as other various air forces ...
. Block 50/52 F-16s initially used the more reliable APG-68(V)5 which has a programmable signal processor employing VHSIC, Very-High-Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) technology. The Advanced Block 50/52 (or 50+/52+) are equipped with the APG-68(V)9 radar, with a 30% greater air-to-air detection range and a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode for high-resolution mapping and target detection-recognition. In August 2004, Northrop Grumman was contracted to upgrade the APG-68 radars of Block 40/42/50/52 aircraft to the (V)10 standard, providing all-weather autonomous detection and targeting for Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided precision weapons, SAR mapping and terrain-following radar (TF) modes, as well as interleaving of all modes. The F-16E/F is outfitted with Northrop Grumman's AN/APG-80 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Northrop Grumman developed the latest AESA radar upgrade for the F-16 (selected for USAF and Taiwan's
Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based i ...
F-16 upgrades), named the AN/APG-83, Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) APG-83. In July 2007, Raytheon announced that it was developing a Next Generation Radar (RANGR) based on its earlier AN/APG-79 AESA radar as a competitor to Northrop Grumman's AN/APG-68 and AN/APG-80 for the F-16. On 28 February 2020, Northrop Grumman received an order from USAF to extend the service lives of their F-16s to at least 2048 with APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) as part of the service-life extension program (SLEP).


Propulsion

The initial powerplant selected for the single-engined F-16 was the Pratt & Whitney F100, Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200 Turbofan#Afterburning turbofan, afterburning turbofan, a modified version of the F-15's F100-PW-100, rated at 23,830 lbf (106.0 kN) thrust. During testing, the engine was found to be prone to compressor stalls and "rollbacks", wherein the engine's thrust would spontaneously reduce to idle. Until resolved, the Air Force ordered F-16s to be operated within "dead-stick landing" distance of its bases. It was the standard F-16 engine through the Block 25, except for the newly built Block 15s with the Operational Capability Upgrade (OCU). The OCU introduced the 23,770 lbf (105.7 kN) F100-PW-220, later installed on Block 32 and 42 aircraft: the main advance being a Digital Electronic Engine Control (DEEC) unit, which improved reliability and reduced Stall (engine), stall occurrence. Beginning production in 1988, the "-220" also supplanted the F-15's "-100", for commonality. Many of the "-220" engines on Block 25 and later aircraft were upgraded from 1997 onwards to the "-220E" standard, which enhanced reliability and maintainability; unscheduled engine removals were reduced by 35%.Peacock 1997, pp. 102–103. The F100-PW-220/220E was the result of the USAF's Alternate Fighter Engine (AFE) program (colloquially known as "the Great Engine War"), which also saw the entry of General Electric as an F-16 engine provider. Its General Electric F110, F110-GE-100 turbofan was limited by the original inlet to thrust of 25,735 lbf (114.5 kN), the Modular Common Inlet Duct allowed the F110 to achieve its maximum thrust of 28,984 lbf (128.9 kN). (To distinguish between aircraft equipped with these two engines and inlets, from the Block 30 series on, blocks ending in "0" (e.g., Block 30) are powered by GE, and blocks ending in "2" (e.g., Block 32) are fitted with Pratt & Whitney engines.) The Increased Performance Engine (IPE) program led to the 29,588 lbf (131.6 kN) F110-GE-129 on the Block 50 and 29,160 lbf (129.4 kN) F100-PW-229 on the Block 52. F-16s began flying with these IPE engines in the early 1990s. Altogether, of the 1,446 F-16C/Ds ordered by the USAF, 556 were fitted with F100-series engines and 890 with F110s. The United Arab Emirates' Block 60 is powered by the General Electric F110-GE-132 turbofan with a maximum thrust of 32,500 lbf (144.6 kN), the highest thrust engine developed for the F-16.Peacock 1997, p. 103.


Operational history

F-16s have participated in numerous conflicts, most of them in the Middle East.


United States

The F-16 is being used by the active duty USAF, Air Force Reserve, and
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
units, the USAF aerial demonstration team, the
U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds") is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953, the USAF Th ...
, and as an adversary-aggressor aircraft by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. The U.S. Air Force, including the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, flew the F-16 in combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and in the Yugoslav Wars, Balkans later in the 1990s. F-16s also patrolled the no-fly zones in Iraq during Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch and served during the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, War in Iraq from 2001 and 2003 respectively. In 2011, Air Force F-16s took part in the 2011 military intervention in Libya, intervention in Libya. On 11 September 2001, two unarmed F-16s were launched in an attempt to ram and down United Airlines Flight 93 before it reached Washington D.C. during the September 11 attacks, September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but Flight 93 was brought down by the passengers first, so the F-16s were retasked to patrol the local airspace and later escorted Air Force 1 back to Washington. The F-16 had been scheduled to remain in service with the U.S. Air Force until 2025. Its replacement was planned to be the F-35A variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which is expected to gradually begin replacing several multi-role aircraft among the program's member nations. However, owing to delays in the F-35 program, all USAF F-16s will receive service life extension upgrades. In 2022, it was announced the USAF would continue to operate the F-16 for another two decades.


Israel

The F-16's first air-to-air combat success was achieved by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) over the Bekaa Valley on 28 April 1981, against a Syrian Mil Mi-8, Mi-8 helicopter, which was downed with cannon fire.Iskra, Alex
"GD/L-M F-16A/B Netz in Israeli Service."
''Air Combat Information Group (ACIG)'', 26 September 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
On 7 June 1981, eight Israeli F-16s, escorted by six F-15s, executed Operation Opera, their first employment in a significant air-to-ground operation. This raid severely damaged Osirak, an Iraqi nuclear reactor under construction near Baghdad, to prevent the regime of Saddam Hussein from using the reactor for the creation of nuclear weapons. The following year, during the 1982 Lebanon War Israeli F-16s engaged Syrian aircraft in one of the largest air battles involving jet aircraft, which began on 9 June and continued for two more days. Israeli Air Force F-16s were credited with 44 air-to-air kills during the conflict. In January 2000, Israel completed a purchase of 102 new F-16I aircraft in a deal totaling $4.5 billion. F-16s were also used in their ground-attack role for strikes against targets in Lebanon. IAF F-16s participated in the 2006 Lebanon War and the Gaza War (2008–09), 2008–09 Gaza War. During and after the 2006 Lebanon war, IAF F-16s shot down Iranian-made Unmanned aerial vehicle, UAVs launched by Hezbollah, using Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Rafael Python 5
air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
s. On 10 February 2018, an Israeli Air Force F-16I February 2018 Israel–Syria incident, was shot down in northern Israel when it was hit by a relatively old model S-200 (missile), S-200 (NATO name SA-5 Gammon) surface-to-air missile of the Syrian Air Defense Force. The pilot and navigator ejected safely in Israeli territory. The F-16I was part of a bombing mission against Syrian and Iranian targets around Damascus after an Iranian drone entered Israeli air space and was shot down. An Israel Air Force investigation determined on 27 February 2018 that the loss was due to pilot error since the IAF determined the air crew did not adequately defend themselves.


Pakistan

During the Soviet–Afghan War, PAF F-16As shot down between 20-30 Soviet & Afghan warplanes however the political situation resulted in PAF officially recognising only 9 kills which were made inside Pakistani airspace. From May 1986 to January 1989, Pakistan Air Force, PAF F-16s from the Tail Choppers and No. 9 Squadron PAF, Griffin squadrons using mostly AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, shot down four Afghan Air Force, Afghan Sukhoi Su-17, Su-22s, two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, MiG-23s, one Sukhoi Su-25, Su-25, and one Antonov An-26, An-26s. Most of these kills were by missiles, but at least one, a Su-22, was destroyed by cannon fire. One F-16 was lost in these battles. On 7 June 2002, a Pakistan Air Force F-16B Block 15 (S. No. 82-605) shot down an Indian Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle, an Israeli-made IAI Searcher, Searcher II, using an AIM-9L Sidewinder missile, during a night interception near Lahore The Pakistan Air Force has used its F-16s in various foreign and internal military exercises, such as the "Indus Vipers" exercise in 2008 conducted jointly with Turkey. Between May 2009 and , the PAF F-16 fleet flew more than 5,500 sorties in support of the Pakistan Army's War in North-West Pakistan, operations against the Taliban insurgency in the FATA region of North-West Pakistan. More than 80% of the dropped munitions were laser-guided bombs.Schmitt, Eric
"Pakistan Injects Precision Into Air War on Taliban."
''The New York Times'', 29 July 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
On 27 February 2019, following a 2019 Jammu and Kashmir airstrikes, Pakistan air force airstrike in Kashmir, Pakistani officials said that two of its fighter jets shot down one MiG-21 and one Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Su-30MKI belonging to the Indian Air Force. Indian officials only confirmed the loss of one MiG-21 but denied losing any Su-30MKI in the clash. Additionally Indian officials also claimed to have shot down one F-16 belonging to Pakistan air force. This was denied by the Pakistani side and later backed by a report by Foreign Policy magazine, reporting that the US had completed a physical count of Pakistan's F-16s and found none missing. A report by the Washington Post noted that the The Pentagon, Pentagon and United States Department of State, State Department refused public comment on the matter but did not deny the earlier report.


Turkey

The
Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...
acquired its first F-16s in 1987. F-16s were later produced in Turkey under four phases of ''Peace Onyx'' programs. In 2015, they were upgraded to Block 50/52+ with CCIP by
Turkish Aerospace Industries Turkish Aerospace Inc. ( tr, Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş., TUSAŞ) is the center of technology in design, development, manufacturing, integration of aerospace systems, modernization and after sales support in Turkey. Located in Ankara ...
. Turkish F-16s are being fitted with indigenous AESA radars and EW suite called SPEWS-II. On 18 June 1992, a Greek Mirage F-1 crashed during a dogfight with a Turkish F-16. On 8 February 1995, a Turkish F-16 crashed into the Aegean sea after being intercepted by Greek Dassault Mirage F1, Mirage F1 fighters. Turkish F-16s participated in the Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo since 1993 in support of United Nations resolutions. On 8 October 1996, seven months after the escalation a Greek Mirage 2000 reportedly fired an R.550 Magic, R.550 Magic II missile and shot down a Turkish F-16D over the Aegean Sea near Chios island. The Turkish pilot died, while the co-pilot ejected and was rescued by Greek forces. In August 2012, after the Turkish-Syrian relations#Friction due to Syrian civil war, downing of a RF-4E on the Syrian Coast, Turkish Defence Minister İsmet Yılmaz confirmed that the Turkish F-16D was shot down by a Greek Mirage 2000 with an R.550 Magic II in 1996 near Chios island. Greece denies that the F-16 was shot down. Both Mirage 2000 pilots reported that the F-16 caught fire and they saw one parachute. On 23 May 2006, two Greek F-16s intercepted a Turkish RF-4 reconnaissance aircraft and two F-16 escorts off the coast of the Greek island of Karpathos, within the Athens FIR. A mock dogfight ensued between the two sides, resulting in a midair collision between a Turkish F-16 and a Greek F-16. The Turkish pilot ejected safely, but the Greek pilot died owing to damage caused by the collision. Turkey used its F-16s extensively in its Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present), conflict with Kurdish insurgents in southeastern parts of Turkey and Iraq. Turkey launched its first cross-border raid on 16 December 2007, a prelude to the 2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq, involving 50 fighters before Operation Sun. This was the first time Turkey had mounted a night-bombing operation on a massive scale, and also the largest operation conducted by the Turkish Air Force. During the Syrian Civil War, Turkish F-16s were tasked with airspace protection on the Syrian border. After the June 2012 interception of Turkish aircraft, RF-4 downing in June 2012 Turkey changed its rules of engagement against Syrian aircraft, resulting in scrambles and downings of Syrian combat aircraft. On 16 September 2013, a
Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...
F-16 shot down a Syrian Arab Air Force Mil Mi-17 helicopter in Latakia Governorate near the Turkish border. On 23 March 2014, a
Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...
F-16 shot down a Syrian Arab Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 when it allegedly entered Turkish air space during a ground attack mission against Al Qaeda-linked insurgents. On 16 May 2015, Two
Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...
F-16s shot down a Syrian Ghods Mohajer, Mohajer 4 UAV firing two AIM-9 missiles after it trespassed into Turkish airspace for 5 minutes. A Turkish Air Force F-16 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown, shot down a Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 on the Turkey-Syria border on 24 November 2015. On 1 March 2020, two Syrian Sukhoi Su-24s were shot down by Turkish Air Force F-16s using
air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
s over Syria's Idlib Governorate. All four pilots safely ejected. On 3 March 2020, a Syrian Arab Army Air Force Aero L-39 Albatros, L-39 combat trainer was shot down by a Turkish F-16 over Syria's Idlib province. The pilot died. As a part of Turkish F-16 modernization program new air to air missiles are being developed and tested for the aircraft. GÖKTUĞ program led by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, TUBITAK SAGE has presented two types of air to air missiles named as Bozdogan (Merlin (bird), Merlin) and Gokdogan (Peregrine falcon, Peregrine). While Bozdogan has been categorized as a Within Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (WVRAAM), Gokdogan is a Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air-Missile (Beyond-visual-range missile, BVRAAM). On 14 April 2021, first live test exercise of Bozdogan have successfully completed and the first batch of missiles are expected to be delivered throughout the same year to the Turkish Air Force.


Egypt

On 16 February 2015, Egyptian F-16s February 2015 Egyptian airstrikes in Libya, struck weapons caches and training camps of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Libya in retaliation for the murder of 21 Egyptian Copts, Coptic Christian construction workers by masked militants affiliated with ISIS. The air strikes killed 64 ISIS fighters, including three leaders in Derna, Libya, Derna and Sirte on the coast.


Others

The
Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...
,
Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...
,
Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...
,
Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...
, and Venezuela Air Force have flown the F-16 on combat missions. A Yugoslavian MiG-29 was shot down by a Dutch F-16AM during the Kosovo War in 1999.Spick 2000, p. 241. Belgian and Danish F-16s also participated in joint operations over Kosovo during the war. Dutch, Belgian, Danish, and Norwegian F-16s were deployed during the 2011 military intervention in Libya, 2011 intervention in Libya and in Afghanistan. In Libya, Norwegian F-16s dropped almost 550 bombs and flew 596 missions, some 17% of the total strike missions including the bombing of Muammar Gaddafi's headquarters. The Royal Moroccan Air Force and the Royal Bahraini Air Force each lost a single F-16C, both shot down by Houthis anti aircraft fire during the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, respectively on 11 May 2015 and on 30 December 2015. In late March 2018, Croatia announced its intention to purchase 12 used Israeli F-16C/D "Barak"/"Brakeet" jets, pending U.S. approval. Acquiring these F-16s would allow Croatia to retire its aging MiG-21s. On 11 July 2018, Slovakia's government approved the purchase of 14 F-16s Block 70/72 to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-made Mikoyan MiG-29, MiG-29s. A contract was signed on 12 December 2018 in Bratislava.


Variants

F-16 models are denoted by increasing Block Number (aircraft), block numbers to denote upgrades. The blocks cover both single- and two-seat versions. A variety of software, hardware, systems, weapons compatibility, and structural enhancements have been instituted over the years to gradually upgrade production models and retrofit delivered aircraft. While many F-16s were produced according to these block designs, there have been many other variants with F-16 Fighting Falcon variants#Major modification variants, significant changes, usually because of F-16 Fighting Falcon variants#Major upgrade programs, modification programs. Other changes have resulted in role-specialization, such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon variants#Special mission variants, close air support and reconnaissance variants. Several models were also developed to F-16 Fighting Falcon variants#Technology demonstrators, and test variants, test new technology. The F-16 design also inspired the design of other aircraft, which are considered F-16 Fighting Falcon variants#Derivative fighters, derivatives. Older F-16s are being converted into F-16 Fighting Falcon variants#QF-16, QF-16 drone targets."Boeing Receives First F-16 For Conversion into QF-16 Aerial Drone."
''Boeing, ''27 May 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
; F-16A/B: The F-16A (single seat) and F-16B (two seat) were initial production variants. These variants include the Block 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 versions. Block 15 was the first major change to the F-16 with larger horizontal stabilizers. It is the most numerous of all F-16 variants with 475 produced. Many F-16A and B aircraft have been upgraded to the Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) Block 20 standard, becoming functionally equivalent to mid-production C/D models. ; F-16C/D: The F-16C (single seat) and F-16D (two seat) variants entered production in 1984. The first C/D version was the Block 25 with improved cockpit avionics and radar which added all-weather capability with Beyond-visual-range missile, beyond-visual-range (BVR) AIM-7 and AIM-120 air-air missiles. Block 30/32, 40/42, and 50/52 were later C/D versions.Darling 2003, pp. 58–62. The F-16C/D had a unit cost of US$18.8 million (1998). Operating cost, Operational cost per flight hour has been estimated at $7,000 to $22,470 or $24,000, depending on calculation method. ; F-16E/F: The F-16E (single seat) and F-16F (two seat) are newer F-16 Block 60 variants based on the F-16C/D Block 50/52. The United Arab Emirates invested heavily in its development. It features improved AN/APG-80 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, avionics, conformal fuel tanks (CFTs), and the more powerful General Electric F110-GE-132 engine.Darling 2003, pp. 62–63. ; F-16IN:For the Indian MRCA competition for the Indian Air Force, Lockheed Martin offered the ''F-16IN Super Viper''. The F-16IN is based on the F-16E/F Block 60 and features conformal fuel tanks; AN/APG-80 AESA radar, GE F110-GE-132A engine with FADEC controls; electronic warfare suite and Infra-red search and track, Infra-red search and track (IRST) unit; updated glass cockpit; and a helmet-mounted cueing system. ''
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
''. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
As of 2011, the F-16IN is no longer in the competition. In 2016, Lockheed Martin offered the new F-16 Block 70/72 version to India under the Make in India program. In 2016, Indian government offered to purchase 200 (potentially up to 300) fighters in a deal worth $13–15bn. As of 2017, Lockheed Martin has agreed to manufacture F-16 Block 70 fighters in India with the Indian defense firm Tata Advanced Systems Limited. The new production line could be used to build F-16s for India and for exports. ; F-16IQ: In September 2010, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency informed the United States Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale of 18 F-16IQ aircraft along with the associated equipment and services to the newly reformed
Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...
. Total value of sale is estimated at ."Iraq – F-16 Aircraft."
''Defense Security Cooperation Agency,'' 15 September 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
; F-16N:The F-16N was an adversary aircraft operated by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. It is based on the standard F-16C/D Block 30 and is powered by the General Electric F110-GE-100 engine, and is capable of supercruise. The F-16N has a strengthened wing and is capable of carrying an Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) pod on the starboard wingtip. Although the single-seat F-16Ns and twin-seat (T)F-16Ns are based on the early-production small-inlet Block 30 F-16C/D airframe, they retain the APG-66 radar of the F-16A/B. In addition, the aircraft's 20 mm cannon has been removed, as has the ASPJ, and they carry no missiles. Their EW fit consists of an ALR-69 radar warning receiver (RWR) and an ALE-40 chaff/flare dispenser. The F-16Ns and (T)F-16Ns have the standard Air Force tailhook and undercarriage and are not aircraft carrier capable. Production totaled 26 airframes, of which 22 are single-seat F-16Ns and four are twin-seat TF-16Ns. The initial batch of aircraft were in service between 1988 and 1998. At that time, hairline cracks were discovered in several bulkheads and the Navy did not have the resources to replace them, so the aircraft were eventually retired, with one aircraft sent to the collection of the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida, and the remainder placed in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB. These aircraft were later replaced by embargoed ex-Pakistani F-16s in 2003. The original inventory of F-16Ns were previously operated by adversary squadrons at NAS Oceana, Virginia; NAS Key West, Florida and the former NAS Miramar, California. The current F-16A/B aircraft are operated by the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at NAS Fallon, Nevada. ; F-16V:At the 2012 Singapore Air Show, Lockheed Martin unveiled plans for the new F-16V variant with the V suffix for its Viper nickname. It features an AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a new mission computer and electronic warfare suite, automated ground collision avoidance system, and various cockpit improvements; this package is an option on current production F-16s and can be retrofitted to most in service F-16s. First flight took place 21 October 2015. Lockheed and Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, AIDC both invested in the development of the aircraft and will share revenue from all sales and upgrades. Upgrades to Taiwan's F-16 fleet began in January 2017. The first country to confirm the purchase of 16 new F-16V Block 70/72 was Bahrain. Greece announced the upgrade of 84 F-16C/D Block 52+ and Block 52+ Advanced (Block 52M) to the latest V (Block 70/72) variant in October 2017. Slovakia announced on 11 July 2018 that it intends to purchase 14 F-16V Block 70/72 aircraft. Lockheed Martin has redesignated the F-16V Block 70 as the "F-21" in its offering for India's fighter requirement. Taiwan's
Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based i ...
announced on 19 March 2019 that it formally requested the purchase of an additional 66 F-16V jets. The Donald Trump, Trump administration approved the sale on 20 August 2019. On 14 August 2020, Lockheed Martin was awarded a United States dollar, US$62 billion contract by the US DoD that includes 66 new F-16s at US$8 billion for Taiwan. ; QF-16: In September 2013, Boeing and the U.S. Air Force tested an unmanned F-16, with two US Air Force pilots controlling the airplane from the ground as it flew from Tyndall Air Force Base, Tyndall AFB over the Gulf of Mexico.


Related developments

;Vought Model 1600: Proposed naval variant ;General Dynamics F-16XL: 1980s technology demonstrator ;General Dynamics NF-16D VISTA: 1990s experimental fighter ;Mitsubishi F-2: 1990s Japanese multi-role fighter based on the F-16


Operators

By July 2010, there had been 4,500 F-16s delivered. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Former operators

* – Italian Air Force leased up to 30 F-16As and 4 F-16Bs from the USAF from 2001 until 2012. * –
Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...
on 6 January 2022, Norway announced that all F-16s had been retired.


Notable accidents and incidents

The F-16 has been involved in over 670 hull-loss accidents as of January 2020. *On 8 May 1975, while practicing a 9-''g'' aerial display maneuver with the second YF-16 (tail number ''72-1568'') at
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, prior to being sent to the
Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
, one of the main landing gears jammed. The test pilot, Neil Anderson, had to perform an emergency gear-up landing and chose to do so in the grass, hoping to minimize damage and to avoid injuring any observers. The aircraft was only slightly damaged, but because of the mishap the first prototype was sent to the Paris Air Show in its place. *On 15 November 1982, while on a training flight outside Kunsan Air Base in South Korea, USAF Captain Ted Harduvel died when he crashed inverted into a mountain ridge. In 1985, Harduvel's widow filed a lawsuit against General Dynamics claiming an electrical malfunction, not pilot error, as the cause; a jury awarded the plaintiff $3.4 million in damages. However, in 1989, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the contractor had immunity to lawsuits, overturning the previous judgment. The court remanded the case to the trial court "for entry of judgment in favor of General Dynamics". The accident and subsequent trial was the subject of the 1992 film ''Afterburn (film), Afterburn''. *On 23 March 1994, during a joint Army-Air Force exercise at Pope AFB, North Carolina, F-16D (AF Serial No. 88-0171) of the 23d Wing, 23d Fighter Wing / 74th Fighter Squadron was simulating an engine-out approach when it collided with a USAF C-130E. Both F-16 crew members ejected, but their aircraft, on full afterburner, continued on an arc towards Green Ramp and struck a USAF C-141 that was being boarded by US Army paratroopers. This accident resulted in 24 fatalities and at least 100 others injured. It has since been known as the "Green Ramp disaster". *On 15 September 2003, a United States Air Force Thunderbirds, USAF Thunderbirds F-16C crashed during an air show at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. Captain Christopher Stricklin attempted a "split S" maneuver based on an incorrect mean-sea-level altitude of the airfield. Climbing to only above ground level instead of , Stricklin had insufficient altitude to complete the maneuver, but was able to guide the aircraft away from spectators and ejected less than one second before impact. Stricklin survived with only minor injuries; the aircraft was destroyed. USAF procedure for demonstration "Split-S" maneuvers was changed, requiring both pilots and controllers to use above-ground-level (AGL) altitudes. *On 26 January 2015, a Greek F-16D 2015 Los Llanos Air Base crash, crashed while performing a NATO training exercise in Albacete, Spain. Both crew members and nine French soldiers on the ground died when it crashed in the flight-line, destroying or damaging two Italian AMX International AMX, AMXs, two French Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, Alpha jets, and one French Dassault Mirage 2000, Mirage 2000. *On 7 July 2015, an F-16CJ 2015 Moncks Corner mid-air collision, collided with a Cessna 150M over Moncks Corner, South Carolina, U.S. The pilot of the F-16 ejected safely, but both people in the Cessna were killed. * On 11 October 2018, an F-16 MLU from the 2nd Tactical Wing of the Belgian Air Component, on the apron at Florennes Air Base, Florennes Air Station, was hit by a gun burst from a nearby F-16, whose cannon was fired inadvertently during maintenance. The aircraft caught fire and was burned to the ground, while two other F-16s were damaged and two maintenance personnel were treated for aural trauma. * On 11 March 2020, a Pakistani F-16AM (Serial No. 92730) belonging to the No. 9 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force) crashed in the Shakarparian area of Islamabad during rehearsals for the Pakistan Day Parade. The plane crashed when the F-16 was executing an aerobatic loop. As a result, the pilot of the F-16, Wing Commander Noman Akram, who was also the Commanding Officer of the No. 9 Squadron "Griffins", lost his life. A board of inquiry ordered by the Pakistan Air Force later revealed that the pilot had every chance to eject but opted not to and tried his best to save the aircraft and avoid civilian casualties on the ground. Videos taken by locals on the ground show his F-16AM crashing into some woods. He was hailed a hero by Pakistanis while also gaining some attraction internationally.


Aircraft on display


Belgium

;F-16A * FA-01 – On display at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels, Belgium * FA-16 – On display at Kleine Brogel Air Base * FA-55 – On display at the Chateau de Savigny les Beaune in Beaune, France. A former
Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...
example. * FA-113 – On display at Beauvechain Air Base.


Germany

;F-16A * 78-0057 – Pylon display at Spangdahlem AB, Germany


Israel

;F-16A * Netz 107, F-16A Netz 107 – on display at the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hatzerim Airbase, Beer Sheva. This F-16 was credited with 6.5 shoot-downs of enemy aircraft and took part in Operation Opera in which the Iraqi nuclear reactor was destroyed.


Indonesia

;F-16C * TS-1643 – On display at the Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base in Pekanbaru, Riau. This F-16 was previously crashed and then burned because of a technical problem when taking off from Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport and suffered total loss from the incident.


Japan

;F-16A * 78-0053 – Pylon display at Misawa AB, Japan


Portugal

;F-16A *15150 – On display at Monte Real Air Base, Portugal


The Netherlands

;F-16A * J-215 of the RNLAF on display at the National Military museum at former airbase Soesterberg. * J-228 of the RNLAF on pylon display past the Leeuwarden Airbase Main Gate entry road. * J-240 of the RNLAF on pylon display past the Volkel Airbase Main Gate on the entry road. * J-246 of the RNLAF on pylon display on the N264 / Zeelandsedijk roundabout near the Volkel Airbase Main Gate entry.


Norway

;F-16AM * 674 of the RNoAF at the Norwegian Aviation Museum, Bodø. According to the web page, the plane is as of November 2022, not yet part of the exhibition. * 687 of the RNoAF at the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection, Gardermoen.


Serbia

;F-16CG * 88-0550 – F-16CG at Museum of Aviation, Belgrade.


Thailand

;F-16A * 79-0324 – On display at Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Thailand. * 79-0375 – On display at Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Thai Air Force Academy, Thailand.


Turkey

;F-16C * 89-0032 – F-16C Block 40A at Istanbul Aviation Museum.


United States

;YF-16 * 72-1567 – Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia * 72-1568 – under restoration for display at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
. ;YF-16A (Full-Scale Development) * 75-0745 – Used as a traveling exhibit, on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio * 75-0746 – Pylon-mounted gate guard, McEntire Air National Guard Base, South Carolina * 75-0748 – Cadet Area Terrazzo, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado * 75-0750 – Experimental Aircraft Display Hangar, National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio ;YF-16B (FSD) * 75-0751 – under restoration at the Air Force Test Center#Air Force Flight Test Museum, Air Force Flight Center Museum,
Edwards AFB Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Ed ...
, California. * 75-0752 – Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas, Texas ;F-16A * 78-0001 – Langley AFB Memorial Park, Langley AFB, Virginia. First production model F-16A delivered to USAF. * 78-0005 – 162d Fighter Wing Park, Tucson Air National Guard Base, Arizona * 78-0025 – Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum, Titusville, FL. Formerly a gate guard, Burlington Air National Guard Base, Vermont * 78-0042 – Gate guard, Montgomery Air National Guard Base/Dannelly Field, Alabama * 78-0052 – Eielson AFB Heritage Park, Eielson AFB, Alaska * 78-0059 – Selfridge Military Air Museum#Selfridge Military Air Museum, Selfridge Military Air Museum and Air Park, Selfridge ANGB, Michigan *78-0061
Highland Home "Flying Squadron" High School Football Field, Highland Home, Alabama
* 78-0065 – 388th Fighter Wing and 419th Fighter Wing combined Headquarters,
Hill AFB Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent t ...
, Utah * 78-0066 – On display in Kansas Air National Guard Memorial Park area, McConnell AFB, Kansas * 79-0290 – On display at Great Falls Air National Guard Base, Montana. * 79-0296 – Gate guard, Jacksonville International Airport, Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, Florida * 79-0307 – On display at Cannon AFB Air Park, Cannon AFB, New Mexico * 79-0309 – Base park area adjacent to USAFCENT Headquarters, Shaw AFB, South Carolina. Painted as 20th Fighter Wing F-16C 93–0534. Memorial to Maj Brinson Phillips, 20 FW, killed 19 March 2000 while flying F-16C 93-0534 * 79-0312 – On pylon display, 8th Street Park, Douglas, Arizona * 79-0326 – Gate guard, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida * 79-0327 – Pedestal mounted memorial, Luke AFB, Arizona. Painted in 302d Fighter Squadron markings, to include World War II Tuskegee Airmen "Red Tails" empennage * 79-0334 – Battleship Memorial Park, Mobile, Alabama * 79-0337 – Ground-mobile static display aircraft, normally located at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, New York (state), New York. Used by New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing (former 174th Fighter Wing) at fairs and expositions for
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
recruiting. * 79-0352 – On static display with 23d Wing at Moody AFB, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia * 79-0366 – Memorial park static display, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho * 79-0373 – On display at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado. Aircraft painted in markings of Colorado Air National Guard's 140th Fighter Wing based at Buckley SFB. * 79-0388 – Hill Aerospace Museum,
Hill AFB Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent t ...
, Utah * 79-0402 – Hill Aerospace Museum,
Hill AFB Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent t ...
, Utah * 79-0403 – Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York City, New York (state), New York * 80-0481 – Display on Parade Ground, Sheppard AFB, Texas * 80-0509 – Former 465th Fighter Squadron aircraft, based in Oklahoma before retirement. In Restoration storage at Pima Air & Space Museum, Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Not on public display, but visible from a distance. In Storage next to F-16B (78-0077). * 80-0527 – Former Arizona Air National Guard 162d Fighter Wing aircraft on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona. In original Arizona Air National Guard markings. * 80-0528 – City park in Pinellas Park, Florida. Painted in markings of 56th Fighter Wing, 56th Tactical Training Wing-''cum''-56th Fighter Wing, previously assigned to nearby MacDill AFB in the 1980s and early 1990s. * 80-0573 – Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin AFB, Florida * 80-0612 – Memorial park static display at Puerto Rico National Guard's Camp Santiago, Salinas, Puerto Rico. Former Puerto Rico Air National Guard F-16ADF, painted in markings of PRANG's former 198th Airlift Squadron, 198th Fighter Squadron, but marked as 81612. * 81-0663 – On display in United States Air Force Thunderbirds markings at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. * 81-0676 – Museum of Aviation (Warner Robins), Museum of Aviation, Robins AFB, Warner Robins, Georgia * 81-0721 – MacDill AFB Memorial Park, MacDill AFB, Florida. Former Florida Air National Guard 125th Fighter Wing F-16ADF repainted in markings of a 56th Fighter Wing F-16A previously assigned to MacDill in the 1980s. * 81-0807 – On display at Minnesota Air National Guard Museum, Saint Paul, Minnesota. * 82-0926 – On display at Fargo Air National Guard Base, Fargo, North Dakota. * 82-0930 – On display at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Houston, Texas ;F-16B * 78-0088 – On display at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum, Cape May County Airport, New Jersey * 78-0077 – Former 157th Tactical Fighter Squadron, South Carolina Air National Guard aircraft. In Restoration Storage at Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona. Not on public display, but visible from a distance. In Storage next to F-16A (80-0509.) * 78-0101 – On display at United States Space Camp / Aviation Challenge, Huntsville, Alabama * 78-0107 – On display adjacent to Parade Ground, Lackland AFB, Texas * 79-0430 – Stafford Air & Space Museum, Weatherford, Oklahoma * 80-0633 – Yanks Air Museum, Chino, California. * 81-0816 – Pylon display gate guard, Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, New Jersey * 81-0817 – Russell Military Museum, Russell, Illinois. ;F-16C * 83-1126 – Pylon display at Hill Memorial Park,
Hill AFB Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent t ...
, Utah * 84-1264 – Air park display, Fort Wayne Air National Guard Station, Indiana. Aircraft retains Air Force Heritage paint scheme honoring 358th Fighter Group during World War II. * 84-1393 – Pylon display at Texas National Guard's Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas. Former Texas Air National Guard 147th Fighter Wing/111th Fighter Squadron aircraft. * 85-1469 – Static display at Joe Foss Field Air National Guard Station, South Dakota * 87-0255 – On display adjacent to 149th Fighter Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas * 87-0323 – Preserved as Thunderbird 1 in front of the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron/United States Air Force Thunderbirds hangar, Nellis AFB, Nevada. Assigned to Thunderbirds in the 1992–2008 timeframe. Had number 1 attached on 11 June 1999; number 2 in the 2004 season; number 3 on 3 March 2003 and number 4 on 1 April 2005. ;F-16N * 163269 – San Diego Aerospace Museum, San Diego, California * 163271 – Pacific Coast Air Museum, Santa Rosa, California * 163277 – Palm Springs Air Museum, Palm Springs, California * 163569 – NAS Fort Worth JRB,
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
. It is painted in USAFR colors of the 457th FS, 301st FW. * 163572 – National Naval Aviation Museum, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida * 163576 – Air Power Park, Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada


Specifications (F-16C Block 50 and 52)


Notable appearances in media


See also


Footnotes


References


Notes


Bibliography

*Aleshire, Peter
''Eye of the Viper: The Making of an F-16 Pilot (Illustrated ed.)''.
Old Saybrook, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press, Globe Pequot, 2005. . *Aronstein, David C. and Albert C. Piccirillo. ''The Lightweight Fighter Program: A Successful Approach to Fighter Technology Transition.'' Reston, Virginia, Reston, VA: AIAA, 1996. . *Coram, Robert. ''Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War''. New York City, New York: Little, Brown, and Co., 2002. . *Darling, Kev. ''F-16 Fighting Falcon'' (Combat Legend). London: Airlife, 2003. . * *Frawley, Gerard. ''The International Directory of Military Aircraft''. Manly, New South Wales, Manly NSW, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2002. . *Hampton, Dan. ''Viper Pilot: the autobiography of one of America's most decorated F-16 combat pilots''. William Morrow, 2012. *Hoh, Roger H. and David G. Mitchell
"Flying Qualities of Relaxed Static Stability Aircraft – Volume I: Flying Qualities Airworthiness Assessment and Flight Testing of Augmented Aircraft."
''Federal Aviation Administration'' (DOT/FAA/CT-82/130-I), September 1983. Retrieved 16 June 2008. *Jenkins, Dennis R. ''F/A-18 Hornet: A Navy Success Story''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. . *Peacock, Lindsay. ''On Falcon Wings: The F-16 Story''. RAF Fairford, United Kingdom: The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Enterprises, 1997. . *Richardson, Doug. ''General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon''. London: Salamander Books, 1990. . *Senior, Tim. ''The AirForces Monthly Book of the F-16 Fighting Falcon''. Stamford, Lincolnshire, Stamford, UK: Key Books Ltd, 2002. . *Spick, Mike, ed. ''Great Book of Modern Warplanes''. Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul, MN: MBI, 2000. .


Further reading

*Drendel, Lou. ''F-16 Fighting Falcon – Walk Around No. 1.'' Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Books, 1993. . * Bill Gunston, Gunston, Bill. ''United States Military Aircraft of the 20th century'' London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1984. . *Jenkins, Dennis R. ''McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, Supreme Heavy-Weight Fighter''. Arlington, Texas: Aerofax, 1998. . * Bill Sweetman, Sweetman, Bill
''Supersonic Fighters: The F-16 Fighting Falcons''.
Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Publishers, Capstone Press, 2008. . *Williams, Anthony G. and Dr. Emmanuel Gustin. ''Flying Guns: The Modern Era''. Ramsbury, UK: The Crowood Press, 2004. .


External links


F-16 USAF fact sheet


an


F-16.net Fighting Falcon resource
{{Authority control Mid-wing aircraft General Dynamics aircraft, F-016 Lockheed Martin aircraft, F-016 1970s United States fighter aircraft Single-engined jet aircraft Relaxed-stability aircraft General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, Aircraft first flown in 1974 Fourth-generation jet fighter