F-16 Fighting Falcon

The Fighter Mafia said that the F-15 was even larger and more expensive than the old F-4 Phantom, which was the fighter it was designed to replace. Much of the money for the F-15 went into its high speed and altitude, but because of this the Fighter Mafia said that the F-15 would have an extremely large turning radius so it could not fight, because the pilot would not be able to keep the enemy in sight.

The Fighter Mafia said that what the Air Force needed was a small, manouverable fighter that would be cheap enough to buy in large numbers. The new fighter would have excellent manouverability, acceleration and be able to climb at the subsonic and transonic speeds at which air combat is actually fought. It would have a gun and its primary armament would be the Sidewinder air-to-air missile, which had proven to be very effective in Vietnam.

The US Air Force didn't want a new small fighter since that would threaten the F-15, which was their highest priority program. But the Fighter Mafia gained considerable resonance in Congress and within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In 1971 Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard began a Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program to explore the concept.

The General Dynamics single-engine design won the competition. The two surviving designs were designated the General Dynamics YF-16 and the Northrop YF-17. The YF-17 was a relatively conventional design, to some extent an outgrowth of the F-5, while the YF-16 was an all-new design incorporating highly innovative technologies that in many respects reached beyond those of the more expensive F-15. These included fly-by-wire controls, negative stability, high G loads, good pilot vision, good combat radius and radar intergration.

The competing Northrop YF-17 design was somewhat larger than the YF-16, and used two smaller pure jet engines. At the price of reduced range and persistence, the YF-17 avoided the main problem of the YF-16's turbofan: the inertia of the large fan required too long - in some cases six seconds - to spool up from idle to full power. In other respects, the YF-17 progressed better than expected, given its initial last place position.

Northrop argued that its twin-engine design added an essential safety factor, citing its experience with the small twin-engine F-5 fighter as an example. The US Air Force did not find this persuasive, partly because a two engine plane with one engine out is useless in combat, and the probability of an engine failure was nominally twice as high with two engines as with one. The higher performance, better transient maneuverability, longer range, and lower cost of the YF-16 made it superior to the YF-17, and in 1976 the YF-16 was chosen.

The Air Force was then in the uncomfortable position of having a lightweight fighter design that could outmanouver and outrange its pride and joy, the F-15 air superiority fighter. In real-world combat conditions, which meant Mach 1.2 or below, the F-16 held a significant edge over the F-15. To some extent this problem was solved by designating the F-16 as a "swing fighter" to perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, while the F-15 was to continue with only air-to-air combat.

The single-seat F-16A first flew in December 1976. The first operational F-16A was delivered in January 1979 to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The F-16B, a two-seat model, has tandem cockpits that are about the same size as the one in the A model. Its bubble canopy extends to cover the second cockpit. To make room for the second cockpit, the forward fuselage fuel tank and avionics growth space were reduced. During training, the forward cockpit is used by a student pilot with an instructor in the rear cockpit.

Block 1 and Block 5 F-16s were manufactured through 1981 for the US Air Force and four European air forces. Most Block 1 and 5 aircraft were upgraded to a Block 10 standard in a program called Pacer Loft in 1982. 312 Block 10 aircraft in total were built through 1980. The Block 10 aircraft did not differ much from the earlier F-16s. Block 15 aircraft represent the most numerous version of the more than 3,600 F-16s manufactured. The transition from Block 10 to Block 15 resulted in two hardpoints added to the chin of the inlet. The larger horizontal tails, which grew in area are the most noticeable difference between Block 15 and previous F-16 versions.

The F-16C and F-16D aircraft are the single and two-seat versions of the F-16A/B, incorporate the latest cockpit control and display technology. All F-16s delivered since November 1981 have built-in structural and wiring provisions and systems architecture that permit expansion of the multirole flexibility to perform precision strike, night attack and beyond-visual-range interception missions. All active units and many Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units have converted to the F-16C/D, which is deployed in a number of Block variants. Block 25 added the ability to carry AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to the F-16 and night/precision ground-attack capabilities, as well as an improved radar, the Westinghouse (now Northrop-Grumman) AN/APG-68, with increased range, better resolution, and more operating modes. Block 30/32 added two new engines - Block 30 with a General Electric F110-GE-100 engine, and Block 32 with a Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 engine. Block 30/32 can carry the AGM-45 Shrike and the AGM-88A HARM, and like the Block 25, it can carry the AGM-65 Maverick. Block 40/42 gained capabilities for navigation and precision attack in all weather conditions and at night with the LANTIRN pods and more extensive air-to-ground loads, including the GBU-10, GBU-12, GBU-24 Paveway laser-guided bombs and the GBU-15. Block 40/42 production began in 1988 and ran through 1995. Currently, the Block 40s are being upgraded with several Block 50 systems: ALR-56M threat warning system, the ALE-47 advanced chaff/flare dispenser, an improved performance battery, and Falcon UP structural upgrade.

Block 50/52 aircraft were equipped with a Northrop Grumman APG-68(V)7 radar and a General Electric F110-GE-129 Increased Performance Engine, the aircraft are also capable of using the Lockheed Martin low-altitude navigation and targeting for night (LANTIRN) system. Technology enhancements include color multifunctional displays and programmable display generator, a new Modular Mission Computer, a Digital Terrain System, a new color video camera and color triple-deck video recorder to record the pilot's head-up display view, and an upgraded data transfer unit. In May 2000, the Air Force certitified Block 50/52 (aka Block 50 Plus) F-16s to carry the CBU-103/104/105 Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser, the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon, the GBU-31/32 Joint Direct Attack Munition, and the Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System. Beginning in mid-2000, Lockheed-Martin began to deliver Block 50/52 variants equipped with an on-board oxygen generation system (OBOGS) designed to replace the obsolete, original LOX system.

Block 50D/52D Wild Weasel F-16s come in the C model (one seat) and D model (two seat) versions. It is best recognized for its ability to carry the AGM-88 HARM and the AN/ASQ-213 HARM Targeting System (HTS) in the suppression of enemy air defenses [SEAD] mission. The HTS allows HARM to be employed in the range-known mode providing longer range shots with greater target specificity. This specialized version of the F-16, which can also carry the ALQ-119 Electronic Jamming Pod for self protection, became the sole provider for Air Force SEAD missions when the F-4G Wild Weasel was retired from the Air Force inventory. The lethal SEAD mission now rests solely on the shoulders of the F-16 Harm Targeting System. Although F-18s and EA-6Bs are HARM capable, the F-16 provides the ability to use the HARM in its most effective mode. The original concept called for teaming the F-15 Precision Direction Finding (PDF) and the F-16 HTS. Because this teaming concept is no longer feasible, the current approach calls for the improvement of the HTS capability. The improvement will come from the Joint Emitter Targeting System (JETS), which facilitates the use of HARM's most effective mode when launched from any JETS capable aircraft.

In May 1998 the UAE announced selection of the Block 60 F-16 to be delivered between 2002-2004. The upgrade package consists of a range of modern systems including conformal fuel tanks for greater range, new cockpit displays, an internal sensor suite, a new mission computer and other advanced features including a new agile beam radar.