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111-588: The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter , it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft with over 4,600 built since 1976. Although no longer purchased by the U.S. Air Force, improved versions are being built for export. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to

222-556: 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

333-399: A NACA 64A-204 airfoil was selected; the camber is adjusted by leading-edge and trailing edge flaperons linked to a digital flight control system regulating the flight envelope . 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

444-519: 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 AN/APG-83 as part of the service-life extension program (SLEP). The initial powerplant selected for the single-engined F-16 was the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200 afterburning turbofan , a modified version of

555-403: A conventional construction. Like the wings, the leading and trailing edges were constructed of composite facesheets over honeycomb core. A composite speedbrake was located on top of the fuselage between the engines. The aircraft was powered by two 14,400-pound-force (64 kN) General Electric YJ101-GE-100 afterburning turbojets, installed next to each other to minimize thrust asymmetry in

666-455: 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 2008–09 Gaza War . During and after the 2006 Lebanon war, IAF F-16s shot down Iranian -made UAVs launched by Hezbollah , using Rafael Python 5 air-to-air missiles. On 10 February 2018, an Israeli Air Force F-16I

777-629: 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 , 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. To make more room for assembly of its newer F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft, Lockheed Martin moved

888-450: A good turn rate, acceleration, and range, and optimized for combat at speeds of Mach 0.6–1.6 and altitudes of 30,000–40,000 feet (9,100–12,000 m). 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 was hypothetical as the USAF had no firm plans to procure the winner. Five companies responded, and in 1972,

999-401: A high AOA inducing a stall. The limiters also prevent maneuvers that would exert more than a 9- g load. Flight testing 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,

1110-529: A high-PRF pulse-Doppler track mode to provide Interrupted Continuous Wave guidance for semi-active radar homing (SARH) missiles like the AIM-7 Sparrow. Block 50/52 F-16s initially used the more reliable APG-68(V)5 which has a programmable signal processor employing Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) technology. The Advanced Block 50/52 (or 50+/52+) is equipped with the APG-68(V)9 radar, with

1221-673: A larger nose radome was fitted for the AN/APG-66 radar, wing area was increased from 280 to 300 sq ft (26 to 28 m), 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 , at United States Air Force Plant 4 in late 1975;

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1332-547: A maximum thrust of 32,500 lbf (145 kN), the highest thrust engine developed for the F-16. The F-16 is being used by the active-duty USAF, Air Force Reserve , and Air National Guard units, the USAF aerial demonstration team, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds , and as an adversary-aggressor aircraft by the United States Navy at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center . The U.S. Air Force, including

1443-432: 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 more powerful signal processing , higher output power, improved reliability, and increased range in cluttered or jamming environments. The Mid-Life Update (MLU) program introduced

1554-735: 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 Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pods, and

1665-612: A participant in the LWF program. In August 1974, Congress directed the Navy to make maximum use of the technology and hardware of the LWF for its new lightweight strike fighter, the VFAX . As neither contractor had experience with naval fighters, they sought partners to provide that expertise. General Dynamics teamed with Vought for the Vought Model 1600 ; Northrop with McDonnell Douglas for

1776-560: 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. In May 2013, Lockheed Martin stated there were currently enough orders to keep producing the F-16 until 2017. One change made during production

1887-549: A pure fighter, but multirole , and Schlesinger made it clear that any ACF order would be in addition to the F-15, which extinguished opposition to the LWF. 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 , and

1998-467: A simple ranging-radar. The cockpit had an ejection seat inclined at 18°, a bubble canopy , and a head-up display (HUD). The thin wings carried no fuel, and in areas such as the leading and trailing edge and the LERX, were composed of a Nomex honeycomb core with composite facesheets. The rear of the aircraft had twin all-moving stabilators of aluminum over a honeycomb core, and twin vertical stabilizers of

2109-568: 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 '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

2220-594: A single turbofan engine, an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 hardpoints . Although officially named "Fighting Falcon", the aircraft is commonly known by the nickname "Viper". In addition to active duty in the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command , and Air National Guard units, the aircraft is also used by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team, the US Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Team, and as an adversary/aggressor aircraft by

2331-580: A single vertical stabilizer was insufficient at high angles of attack, and it was changed to twin vertical stabilizers , canted at 45°, resulting in a "relaxed longitudinal stability" design, which enhances maneuverability. Northrop was not yet confident in fly-by-wire controls and retained mechanically actuated flight controls. The resulting aircraft, unveiled on 28 January 1971, had a maximum weight of 40,000 lb (18,144 kg) and maximum speed of Mach  2, but stirred little interest among foreign buyers. The first prototype ( serial number 72-1569 )

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2442-648: A trapezoidal shape formed by a sweep of 20° at the quarter-chord line, and an unswept trailing edge , but was over double the area, with 400 sq ft (37 m ) as opposed to 186 sq ft (17.3 m ) of the F-5E. Initially shoulder mounted, the wings were lowered to the mid position. Its most distinctive new feature were the LERXs that tapered into the fuselage under the cockpit. They added about 50% additional lift at angles of attack exceeding 50°, improving maneuvering. The extensions also aligned airflow into

2553-457: 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. The FLCC further incorporates limiters governing movement in the three main axes based on attitude, airspeed, and angle of attack (AOA)/ g ; these prevent control surfaces from inducing instability such as slips or skids , or

2664-482: A weapons mix. More recent versions support the AIM-120 AMRAAM , 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 hardpoints – six under the wings, two on wingtips, and one under

2775-515: Is actually just a sonic boom . The first human-made supersonic boom was likely caused by a piece of common cloth, leading to the whip's eventual development. It's the wave motion travelling through the bullwhip that makes it capable of achieving supersonic speeds. Most modern firearm bullets are supersonic, with rifle projectiles often travelling at speeds approaching and in some cases well exceeding Mach 3 . Most spacecraft are supersonic at least during portions of their reentry, though

2886-461: Is an obstruction to a pilot's forward vision. The F-16's ACES II 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 aches, possibly caused by incorrect headrest usage. Subsequent U.S. fighters have adopted more modest tilt-back angles of 20°. Because of

2997-459: Is built with about 80% aviation-grade aluminum alloys , 8% steel, 3% composites, and 1.5% titanium . The leading-edge flaps, stabilators, and ventral fins make use of bonded aluminum honeycomb structures and graphite epoxy lamination coatings . The number of lubrication points, fuel line connections, and replaceable modules is significantly less than in preceding fighters; 80% of the access panels can be accessed without stands. The air intake

3108-468: Is expected to gradually begin replacing several multirole 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. The F-16's first air-to-air combat success was achieved by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) over

3219-444: Is more complex. The main key to having low supersonic drag is to properly shape the overall aircraft to be long and thin, and close to a "perfect" shape, the von Karman ogive or Sears-Haack body . This has led to almost every supersonic cruising aircraft looking very similar to every other, with a very long and slender fuselage and large delta wings, cf. SR-71 , Concorde , etc. Although not ideal for passenger aircraft, this shaping

3330-528: 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 F-16 upgrades), named the AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR). In July 2007, Raytheon announced that it was developing a Next Generation Radar (RANGR) based on its earlier AN/APG-79 AESA radar as

3441-507: Is quite adaptable for bomber use. Northrop YF-17 The Northrop YF-17 (nicknamed "Cobra" ) was 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 the fighter community believed that aircraft like the F-15 Eagle were too large and expensive for many combat roles. The YF-17

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3552-632: The 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks , but Flight 93 was prematurely brought down by the hijackers after passengers attacked the cockpit, so the F-16s were retasked to patrol the local airspace and later escorted Air Force One back to Washington. The F-16 had been scheduled to remain in service with the U.S. Air Force until 2025. Its replacement is planned to be the F-35A variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II , which

3663-680: The A-7 Corsair II and F-4 Phantom II , complementing the more expensive F-14 Tomcat . This design, conceived as a small and lightweight fighter, was scaled up to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet , which is similar in size and weight to the F-15 and ultimately replaced the F-14. A non-naval, export variant developed and marketed by Northrop, the F-18L failed to attract buyers; nevertheless, many air forces have operated

3774-533: The AIM-9X . The F-16A/B was originally equipped with the Westinghouse AN/APG-66 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 (PRF) for medium- and high-altitude target detection in a low- clutter environment, and in look-down/shoot-down employs

3885-472: The Bekaa Valley on 28 April 1981, against a Syrian Mi-8 helicopter, which was downed with cannon fire. 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

3996-558: The Black Rock Desert on 15 October 1997. The Bloodhound LSR project planned an attempt on the record in 2020 at Hakskeenpan in South Africa with a combination jet and hybrid rocket propelled car. The aim was to break the existing record, then make further attempts during which (the members of) the team hoped to reach speeds of up to 1,600 km/h (1,000 mph). The effort was originally run by Richard Noble who

4107-613: The Fighter Mafia , and in 1969, they secured Department of Defense funding for General Dynamics and Northrop to study design concepts based on the theory. Air Force F-X proponents were opposed to the concept because they perceived it as a threat to the F-15 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

4218-643: The Lockheed Corporation , which became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta . The F-16's key features include a frameless bubble canopy for enhanced cockpit visibility, a side-mounted control stick to ease control while maneuvering, an ejection seat reclined 30 degrees from vertical to reduce the effect of g-forces on the pilot, and the first use of a relaxed static stability / fly-by-wire flight control system that helps to make it an agile aircraft. The fighter has

4329-773: The Paris Air Show . 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 's Schiphol-Oost facility and the other at SABCA's Gosselies plant in Belgium, would produce 184 and 164 units respectively. Norway's Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk and Denmark's Terma A/S also manufactured parts and subassemblies for EPAF aircraft. European co-production

4440-478: The Tail Choppers and Griffin squadrons using mostly AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, shot down four Afghan Su-22s , two MiG-23s , one Su-25 , and one An-26 . 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. The downed F-16 was likely hit accidentally by the other F-16. Supersonic Sounds are traveling vibrations in

4551-636: The Tupolev Tu-144 . Both of these passenger aircraft and some modern fighters are also capable of supercruise , a condition of sustained supersonic flight without the use of an afterburner . Due to its ability to supercruise for several hours and the relatively high frequency of flight over several decades, Concorde spent more time flying supersonically than all other aircraft combined by a considerable margin. Since Concorde's final retirement flight on November 26, 2003, there are no supersonic passenger aircraft left in service. Some large bombers , such as

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4662-562: The Tupolev Tu-160 and Rockwell B-1 Lancer are also supersonic-capable. The aerodynamics of supersonic aircraft is simpler than subsonic aerodynamics because the airsheets at different points along the plane often cannot affect each other. Supersonic jets and rocket vehicles require several times greater thrust to push through the extra aerodynamic drag experienced within the transonic region (around Mach 0.85–1.2). At these speeds aerospace engineers can gently guide air around

4773-480: The United States Navy . The F-16 has also been procured by the air forces of 25 other nations. As of 2024, it is the world's most common fixed-wing aircraft in military service, with 2,145 F-16s operational. US Vietnam War experience showed the need for air superiority fighters and better air-to-air training for fighter pilots. Based on his experience in the Korean War and as a fighter tactics instructor in

4884-524: The fuselage of the aircraft without producing new shock waves , but any change in cross area farther down the vehicle leads to shock waves along the body. Designers use the Supersonic area rule and the Whitcomb area rule to minimize sudden changes in size. However, in practical applications, a supersonic aircraft must operate stably in both subsonic and supersonic profiles, hence aerodynamic design

4995-778: The wing root (the junction with the 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 while decreasing weight. Deeper wing roots also increase structural strength and internal fuel volume. Early F-16s could be armed with up to six AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking short-range air-to-air missiles (AAM) by employing rail launchers on each wingtip, as well as radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow medium-range AAMs in

5106-415: The " vortex lift " phenomenon could be harnessed by highly swept wing configurations to reach higher angles of attack , using leading edge 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

5217-509: 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%. 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 F110-GE-100 turbofan

5328-538: The 29,588 lbf (131.61 kN) F110-GE-129 on the Block 50 and 29,160 lbf (129.7 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

5439-980: The Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, flew the F-16 in combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and in the 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 and the War in Iraq from 2001 and 2003 respectively. In 2011, Air Force F-16s took part in the 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

5550-619: 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 , respectively, with the first flights of both prototypes planned for early 1974. To overcome resistance in the Air Force hierarchy, the Fighter Mafia and other LWF proponents successfully advocated

5661-400: 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

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5772-410: The F-16 gains positive stability 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 (FBW) flight control system (FLCS). The flight control computer (FLCC) accepts pilot input from the stick and rudder controls and manipulates the control surfaces in such

5883-510: 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 (~$ 3.67 billion in 2023) 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 . Onboard power and cooling capacities limit

5994-612: The F-16 production from Fort Worth, Texas to its plant in Greenville, South Carolina . Lockheed delivered the last F-16 from Fort Worth to the Iraqi Air Force 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

6105-426: The F-16's cockpit is the exceptional field of view. The single-piece, 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. Additionally, the F-16's canopy omits the forward bow frame found on many fighters, which

6216-527: 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 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- off-boresight missiles like

6327-454: 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

6438-567: 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 in April 1974. The ACF would not be

6549-596: The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 as a purely land-based fighter. The aircraft's main design elements date to early 1965, from the internal Northrop project N-300. The N-300 was derived from the F-5E , and features a longer fuselage, small leading-edge root extensions (LERX), and more powerful GE15-J1A1 turbojets , rated at 9,000  lbf (40 kN). The wing position was raised slightly to increase ground clearance for ordnance. The N-300 further evolved into

6660-513: The P-530 Cobra, which uses 13,000 lbf (58 kN) GE15-J1A5 engines, with a very small 0.25:1 bypass ratio leading to the nickname "leaky turbojet". The bypass air was required for cooling the afterburner and nozzle and the cool bypass duct surface allowed the engine bay to be constructed of lighter, cheaper materials. The P-530 wing planform and nose section were similar to the F-5, with

6771-464: 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 and F-4 Phantom II 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 naval fighter-bomber variant of

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6882-582: The YF-16 – unlike the YF-17 – was its use of the Pratt & Whitney F100 turbofan engine, the same powerplant 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

6993-473: The YF-17 competed against the General Dynamics YF-16 . The two YF-17 prototypes flew 288 test flights, totaling 345.5 hours. The YF-17 attained a top speed of Mach 1.95, a peak load factor of 9.4 g , and a maximum altitude of over 50,000 ft (15,000 m). It demonstrated a maximum angle of attack of 68 degrees at 28 kn IAS. Initially, the U.S. Navy was not heavily involved as

7104-454: The aircraft during high- g combat maneuvers, various switches and function controls were moved to centralized 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

7215-436: The aircraft to return to straight and level flight attitude if the pilot releases the controls. This reduces maneuverability as the inherent stability has to be overcome and increases a form of drag known as trim drag . Aircraft with relaxed stability are designed to be able to augment their stability characteristics while maneuvering to increase lift and reduce drag, thus greatly increasing their maneuverability. At Mach 1 ,

7326-430: 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

7437-401: The aircraft's mission changed from solely air-to-air combat to multirole operations. Changes in operational use and additional systems have increased weight, necessitating multiple structural strengthening programs. The F-16 has a cropped- delta wing incorporating wing-fuselage blending and forebody vortex -control strakes ; a fixed-geometry, underslung air intake (with splitter plate ) to

7548-501: The basis for what would become the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet . 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 which was reduced to eight (six F-16A single-seaters and two F-16B two-seaters). The YF-16 design was altered for the production F-16. The fuselage was lengthened by 10.6 in (0.269 m),

7659-446: The beginning of the 20th century, the term "supersonic" was used as an adjective to describe sound whose frequency is above the range of normal human hearing. The modern term for this meaning is " ultrasonic ", but the older meaning sometimes still lives on, as in the word superheterodyne The tip of a bullwhip is generally seen as the first object designed to reach the speed of sound. This action results in its telltale "crack", which

7770-513: The cannon moved from the underside of the fuselage, to the upper part. Design of the YF-17 and the prototype YJ101 engine, a development of the GE15 engine, consumed over a million man-hours, and 5,000 hours of wind tunnel testing. The YF-17 was primarily constructed of aluminum , in conventional semi- monocoque stressed-skin construction, though over 900 lb (408 kg) of its structure comprised graphite/epoxy composite. The small nose contained

7881-418: The control stick and rudder pedals to the flight control surfaces . 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" and aphorisms among pilots such as "You don't fly an F-16; it flies you." The quadruplex design permits " graceful degradation " in flight control response in that

7992-437: The early 1960s, Colonel John Boyd with mathematician Thomas Christie developed the energy–maneuverability theory 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 . In the late 1960s, Boyd gathered a group of like-minded innovators who became known as

8103-414: The effects on the spacecraft are reduced by low air densities. During ascent, launch vehicles generally avoid going supersonic below 30 km (~98,400 feet) to reduce air drag. Note that the speed of sound decreases somewhat with altitude, due to lower temperatures found there (typically up to 25 km). At even higher altitudes the temperature starts increasing, with the corresponding increase in

8214-591: The engines at high angles of attack. The resemblance to the head of a cobra led to the adoption of the nickname "Cobra" for the P-530. When the Lightweight Fighter program was announced in 1971, Northrop modified the P-530 into the P-600 design that would be designated YF-17A. Whereas the P-530 was intended as a multi-role aircraft, the P-600 was to be strictly an air-to-air demonstrator, and consequently

8325-420: The event of an engine failure. To minimise engine removal time they were removed from below the aircraft without disturbing the empennage controls. Each engine drove an hydraulic pump for independent aircraft systems. Unlike the P-530, the YF-17 had partial fly-by-wire, called an electronic control augmentation system (ECAS), which used ailerons, rudders, and stabilators for primary flight control. Studies showed

8436-510: 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 aircraft entered USAF operational service with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron , 388th Tactical Fighter Wing , at Hill AFB in Utah, on 1 October 1980. The F-16

8547-711: The first aircraft were delivered to the Royal Norwegian Air Force by Fokker and to the Royal Danish Air Force by SABCA. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) produced 232 Block 30/40/50 F-16s on a production line in Ankara under license for the Turkish Air Force . TAI also produced 46 Block 40s for Egypt in the mid-1990s and 30 Block 50s from 2010 onwards. Korean Aerospace Industries opened

8658-426: The first use of a relaxed static stability / fly-by-wire (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 for better visibility, a side-mounted control stick, and a reclined seat to reduce g-force effects on

8769-505: 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. 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

8880-410: The form of pressure waves in an elastic medium. Objects move at supersonic speed when the objects move faster than the speed at which sound propagates through the medium. In gases, sound travels longitudinally at different speeds, mostly depending on the molecular mass and temperature of the gas, and pressure has little effect. Since air temperature and composition varies significantly with altitude,

8991-514: The fuselage. Two other locations under the fuselage are available for sensor or radar pods. The F-16 carries a 20 mm (0.79 in) M61A1 Vulcan cannon , which is mounted inside the fuselage to the left of the cockpit. The F-16 is the first production fighter aircraft intentionally designed to be slightly aerodynamically unstable, also known as relaxed static stability (RSS), to both reduce drag and improve maneuverability. Most aircraft are designed to have positive static stability, which induces

9102-402: The ground, and the aircraft then began to veer off the runway. The test pilot, Phil Oestricher , 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

9213-441: 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' fly-off, defining the relationship between 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

9324-537: The last Iraqi purchase, the company was negotiating an F-16 sale to Bahrain that would be produced in Greenville. This contract was signed in June 2018, and the first planes rolled off the Greenville line in 2023. The F-16 is a single-engine, highly maneuverable, supersonic, multirole tactical fighter aircraft. It is much smaller and lighter than its predecessors but uses advanced aerodynamics and avionics, including

9435-563: 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) and lightning . Up to 70–80% of the C/D models' electronics were vulnerable to ESD. A key feature of

9546-843: The loss was due to pilot error since the IAF determined the air crew did not adequately defend themselves. On 16 July 2024, the last single-seat F-16C Barak-1 (‘Lightning’ in Hebrew) were retired; the Israeli Air Force continue to use the F-16D Brakeet and F-16I Sufa two-seat variants. During the Soviet–Afghan War , PAF F-16As shot down between 20 and 30 Soviet and Afghan warplanes ; the political situation however resulted in PAF officially recognizing only 9 kills which were made inside Pakistani airspace. From May 1986 to January 1989, PAF F-16s from

9657-502: 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 occurrence. Beginning production in 1988, the "-220" also supplanted the F-15's "-100", for commonality. Many of

9768-549: The next and was the unanimous choice of those pilots that flew both aircraft. On 13 January 1975, Secretary of the Air Force John L. McLucas 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

9879-487: 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,

9990-401: The pilot. It is armed with an internal 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon 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

10101-502: 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

10212-413: 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

10323-570: The reform-minded Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard , who favored the idea of competitive prototyping . 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 (LWF). The request for proposals issued on 6 January 1972 called for a 20,000-pound (9,100 kg) class air-to-air day fighter with

10434-726: 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

10545-426: 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 center-mounted stick ) and an engine throttle; conventional rudder pedals are also employed. To enhance the pilot's degree of control of

10656-414: The single turbofan jet engine; a conventional tri-plane empennage arrangement with all-moving horizontal "stabilator" tailplanes; a pair of ventral fins beneath the fuselage aft of the wing's trailing edge; and a tricycle landing gear configuration with the aft-retracting, steerable nose gear deploying a short distance behind the inlet lip. There is a boom-style aerial refueling receptacle located behind

10767-423: 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 is mounted underneath the fuselage. A fairing beneath the rudder often houses ECM equipment or a drag chute . 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

10878-549: The speed of sound, and Mach numbers for a steadily moving object may change. In water at room temperature supersonic speed means any speed greater than 1,440 m/s (4,724 ft/s). In solids, sound waves can be polarized longitudinally or transversely and have higher velocities. Supersonic fracture is crack formation faster than the speed of sound in a brittle material. The word supersonic comes from two Latin derived words ; 1) super : above and 2) sonus : sound, which together mean above sound, or faster than sound. At

10989-490: The speed of sound. When an inflated balloon is burst, the torn pieces of latex contract at supersonic speed, which contributes to the sharp and loud popping noise. To date, only one land vehicle has officially travelled at supersonic speed, the ThrustSSC . The vehicle, driven by Andy Green , holds the world land speed record, having achieved an average speed on its bi-directional run of 1,228 km/h (763 mph) in

11100-480: Was augmented pitch control to avoid deep stall 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 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

11211-599: 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 for a total of 417 flight hours; the YF-17s flew 288 sorties, covering 345 hours. Increased interest turned the LWF into a serious acquisition program. NATO allies Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway were seeking to replace their F-104G Starfighter fighter-bombers . In early 1974, they reached an agreement with

11322-535: Was given its name of "Fighting Falcon" on 21 July 1980. Its pilots and crews often use the name "Viper" instead, because of a perceived resemblance to a viper snake as well as to the fictional Colonial Viper starfighter from the television program Battlestar Galactica , which aired at the time the F-16 entered service. On 7 June 1975, the four European partners, now known as the European Participation Group , signed up for 348 aircraft at

11433-633: Was limited by the original inlet to a thrust of 25,735 lbf (114.47 kN), the Modular Common Inlet Duct allowed the F110 to achieve its maximum thrust of 28,984 lbf (128.93 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

11544-417: 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

11655-646: 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 began in January 1979. The first Royal Netherlands Air Force aircraft was delivered in June 1979. In 1980,

11766-407: Was placed so it was rearward of the nose but forward enough to minimize air flow losses and reduce aerodynamic drag . 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

11877-495: Was rolled out at Hawthorne on 4 April 1974; its first flight at Edwards AFB came on 9 June with Henry "Hank" Chouteau at the controls flying for 61 minutes reaching an altitude of 18,000 feet and a maximum speed of 610 miles per hour. Chouteau afterwards remarked that, "When our designers said that in the YF-17 they were going to give the airplane back to the pilot, they meant it. It's a fighter pilot's fighter." The second YF-17 (s/n 72-1570 ) first flew on 21 August. Through 1974,

11988-489: Was rolled out on 13 December 1973. Its 90-minute maiden flight was made at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB , 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 to scrape

12099-584: Was shot down in northern Israel when it was hit by a relatively old model 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 airspace and was shot down. An Israel Air Force investigation determined on 27 February 2018 that

12210-653: Was the culmination of a long line of Northrop designs, beginning with the N-102 Fang in 1956, continuing through the F-5 family. Although it lost the LWF competition to the F-16 Fighting Falcon , the YF-17 was selected for the new Naval Fighter Attack Experimental ( VFAX ) program. In enlarged form, the F/A-18 Hornet was adopted by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps to replace

12321-570: Was the leader of the ThrustSSC project, however following funding issues in 2018, the team was bought by Ian Warhurst and renamed Bloodhound LSR. Later the project was indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the vehicle was put up for sale. Most modern fighter aircraft are supersonic aircraft. No modern-day passenger aircraft are capable of supersonic speed, but there have been supersonic passenger aircraft , namely Concorde and

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