F-16 Fighting Falcon
The same border clashes also saw the first combat loss of a Fighting Falcon, when an aircraft was shot down by its own wingman, a case of friendly fire later traced back to a faulty air-to-air missile (AAM).
[ Pakistan Air Force - PAF ]In
Operation Desert Storm of
1991, 249 USAF F-16s flew over 13,000 sorties in strikes against Iraq, the most of any
Coalition aircraft, with five lost in combat, three to
surface-to-air missiles (SAM), one to a premature bomb detonation, and one to an engine fire. F-16s returned to Iraq in force in 1998 as part of the
Operation Desert Fox bombing campaign and again in the 2003
Operation Iraqi Freedom invasion, flying ground support and
SEAD missions.
F-16s were also employed by NATO during Bosnian peacekeeping operations in 1994-95 (one was lost to a SAM, resulting in the evasion and recovery of Captain
Scott O'Grady), in the 1999
Operation Allied Force in
Yugoslavia (during which one was lost to ground fire), and by the United States in
Afghanistan since 2001. Two air-to-air victories were scored by USAF F-16s in
Operation Southern Watch, four in Bosnia, and two in Operation Allied Force (one by a
Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16). F-16s would also participate in the
2003 invasion of Iraq. One F-16 crashed in June 2003 over Iraq due to fuel starvation.
On
June 7,
2006, F-16s carried out two airstrikes which killed
Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the leader of
Al-Qaeda in
Iraq, using two 500 lb. bombs to destroy the al-Qaeda safehouse he was in. Israeli F-16s were believed to have participated in the Israel-Lebanon conflict that began in July 2006, since the aircraft is known to be the bomber workhorse of the Israel Defense Forces. The exact extent of the F-16's role in that conflict was not known publicly as of late July 2006 but was widely believed to be extensive. A fully loaded IDF F-16I reportedly crashed on July 19 when one of its tires burst as it took off for Lebanon from an air base in the Negev. The pilots ejected safely and there were no casualties on the ground.
The F-16 is a single-engined, multi-role tactical aircraft. It is equipped with an
M61 Vulcan cannon in the left wing root, and can be armed with air-to-air missiles and a large variety of missiles or bombs.
From the very beginning, the F-16 was intended to be a cost-effective "workhorse" that could perform various kinds of missions and maintain around-the-clock readiness. It is much simpler and lighter than its predecessors, but uses advanced
aerodynamics and
avionics (including the first use of
fly-by-wire, earning it the nickname of "the electric jet") to maintain good performance.
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F-16CJ Fighting Falcon |
Ergonomics and visibility
The pilot sits high in the
fuselage with the canopy support-bow behind him, out of his field of view. This and the bubble canopy give the pilot an unobstructed field of view, a feature vital during air-to-air combat. The seat is reclined 30 degrees (other seats are typically inclined ~13 degrees), to fit the seat into such a low, narrow (originally radar-less) nose. A common myth is that the angle helps the pilot deal with high g's. The control stick is mounted on the right armrest rather than between the legs as is traditional, to aid in maneuvering during high-g turns. In addition, a
Heads-Up Display (HUD) displays vital information in the pilot's field of view.
Fly by wire
The F-16 uses computerized
fly-by-wire and has no mechanical linkages between the control stick and the flight surfaces. Computer control is necessary for flight as a result of the inherent negative stability of the aircraft, a trait which trades stable flight for increased maneuverability.
This lack of mechanical linkages between the control stick and the flight surfaces led to an unusual characteristic in the design of the control stick: originally, it did not move. The control stick instead detected pressure applied by the pilot and translated that pressure into control of the aircraft. This arrangement proved uncomfortable and difficult for pilots to adjust to, so the control stick was given a small amount (less than a quarter of an inch in any direction) of play.
The onboard computer makes thousands of calculations and corrections each second to keep the plane flying, freeing pilots to concentrate on tasks necessary to fulfill their intended role. The enhanced computer oversight also provides automatic flight coordination, utilizing all control surfaces (including the rudder) to keep the aircraft from entering performance hurting or even potentially dangerous situations such as unintentional
slips or
skids. A common saying from pilots about the F-16 was that, "you don't fly an F-16, it flys you".
Early critics of the F-16 felt that the completely electronic control system would dramatically decrease safety, but a predicted rash of fly-by-wire based accidents never materialized.
Wing and Strake Configuration
Aerodynamic studies in the early 1960's demonstrated that the phenomenon known as "vortex lift" could be beneficially harnessed by the utilization of highly swept wing configurations, such as found in the
Concorde supersonic aircraft and the Swedish
Viggen canard configured aircraft. These favorable effects affected the aircraft's lift capability and allowed the close-coupled wing to be extended to create higher angles of attack through use of a strong leading-edge vortex flow of a slender lifting surface. The leading edge of the wing's blended forebody would thus increase the strength of the vortices and give the aircraft additional lift.
The exploitation of this aerodynamic phenomenon shaped the design of the F-16, which boasts cropped delta wings and long wing-body strakes, and is considered to be one of the significant elements responsible for its enduring success as a highly maneuverable fighter.
Negative static stability
An aircraft with negative static stability will, in the absence of control input, depart from level and controlled flight. Most aircraft are designed with positive static stability, where a plane tends to return to its original attitude following a disturbance. However, positive static stability hampers maneuverability, as the tendency to remain in its current attitude opposes the pilot's effort to maneuver, and so a plane with negative static stability will be more maneuverable. With a fly-by-wire system, such a plane can be kept in stable flight, its instability kept in check by the flight computers.
The YF-16 was the world's first aircraft to be slightly aerodynamically unstable by design. This feature is officially called "relaxed static stability." At subsonic speeds, the aeroplane is constantly on the verge of going out of control. This tendency is constantly caught and corrected by the FLCC (Flight Control Computer) and later the DFLCC (Digital Flight Control Computer), allowing for stable flight. When supersonic, the airplane exhibits positive static stability due to aerodynamic forces acting on the strake section of the wing.
F-16 models are denoted by sequential block numbers to denote significant upgrades. The blocks cover both single- and two-seat versions. An intricate Multinational Staged Improvement Program (MSIP) was instituted to gradually upgrade the F-16 and retroactively implement the upgrades in delivered aircraft.
F-16 A/B
The F-16 A/B was initially equipped with the
Westinghouse AN/APG-66 Pulse-doppler radar,
Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200 turbofan, rated at 14,670 lbf (64.9 kN), 23,830 lbf (106.0 kN) with afterburner. The USAF bought 674 F-16As and 121 F-16Bs, with delivery completed in March 1985.
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Blocks 1 Early blocks (Block 1/5/10) with relatively minor differences between each. Most were later upgraded to the Block 10 configuration in the early 80's. There were 94 Block 1, 197 Block 5, and 312 Block 10 aircraft produced. Block 1 is the early production model with the nose cone painted black.
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Block 5 It was discovered that the black nose cone became an obvious visual identification cue at long range for the Block 1 aircraft, so the color of the nose cone was consequently changed to the low visibility grey for Block 5 aircraft. During the operation of F-16 Block 1, it was discovered that rain water could accumulate in certain spots within the fuselage, so drainage holes were drilled in the forward fuselage and tail fin area for Block 5 aircraft.
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Block 10 The Soviet Union significantly reduced the export of titanium during the late 1970's, so manufacturers of the F-16 used aluminium instead. New methods were also used: the corrugated aluminium is bolted to the epoxy surface for Block 10 aircraft, replacing the old method of aluminium honeycomb being glued to the epoxy surface used in earlier aircraft.
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Block 15 The first major change in the F-16, the Block 15 aircraft featured larger horizontal stabilizers, the addition of two
hardpoints to the chin inlet, improved
AN/APG-66 radar, increased capacity of underwing hardpoints. The F-16 gained the
Have Quick II secure
UHF radio. To counter the additional weight of the new hardpoints, the horizontal stabilizers were enlarged by 30%. Block 15 is the most numerous variant of the F-16, with 983 produced. The last one was delivered in 1996 to Thailand.
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Block 15 OCU From 1987 Block 15 aircraft were delivered to the Operational Capability Upgrade (OCU) standard, which featured improved F100-PW-220 turbofans with digital control interface, the ability to fire the
AGM-65,
AMRAAM, and
AGM-119 Penguin missiles, countermeasures and cockpit upgrades, improved computers and data bus. Its maximum takeoff weight increased to 37,500 lb (17,000 kg). 214 aircraft received this upgrade, as well as some Block 10 aircraft, retroactively.
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Block 20 150 Block 15 OCUs for the
Republic of China (
Taiwan) with the addition of most of the F-16 C/D capability: carriage of
AGM-45 Shrike,
AGM-84 Harpoon,
AGM-88 HARM, and the
LANTIRN pod. The computers onboard Block 20 is siginificantly improved in comparison to that of the earlier versions, with the overall processing speed increased 740 times and the overall memory storage increased 180 times in comparison to that of Block 15 OCU.
F-16 C/D
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Block 25The Block 25 F-16C first flew in June 1984 and entered USAF service in September. The aircraft are fitted with the Westinghouse
AN/APG-68 radar, have a precision night attack capability and are fitted with the
Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220E turbofan, with digital control interface. The USAF is the sole user of this variant, with 209 models delivered.
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Block 30/32 The first aircraft subject to the Alternative Fighter Engine project under which aircraft could be fitted with the traditional Pratt & Whitney engines or for the first time the
General Electric F110. Blocks ending in '0' are powered by GE, blocks ending in '2' are fitted with
Pratt & Whitney engines.
The first Block 30 F-16 entered service in 1987. Major differences include the carriage of the
AGM-45 Shrike and
AGM-88 HARM missiles. From Block 30D aircraft were fitted with enlarged inlets for the increased thrust GE engine, Block 32s were not modified in this way. 733 were produced and delivered to six countries. The Block 32H/J aircraft assigned to the USAF
Thunderbird flight demonstration squadron were built in 1986 and 1987 and are some of the oldest operational F-16's in the Air Force. The Block 30's were upgraded significantly with the addition of the Embedded Global Positioning Sattelite (GPS) Inertial Navigation System (EGI) allowing the use of
JDAM and other GPS aided munitions (See Block 50 list below). This capability in combination with the Grumman LITENING targeting pod enhanced and extended the useability and lifespan of this block of the F-16C. This modification to the baseline Block 30 is commonly known by Viper Drivers as the F-16C++ (pronounced 'plus plus') version.
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Block 40/42 (F-16 CG/DG) Entering service in 1988, the Block 40/42 is the improved all-day/all-weather strike variant with
LANTIRN pod, the night capability gives rise to the name "Night Falcons". The block features strengthened and lengthened undercarriage for
LANTIRN pods, improved radar, and a GPS receiver. From 2002 the Block 40/42 increases the weapon range available to the aircraft including
JDAM,
JSOW,
WCMD and the (Enhanced) EGBU-27. Also incorporated in this block was the addition of ANVIS compatible lighting systems. The TCTO (Time Compliance Technical Order) that added the NVIS compatible systems was completed in 2004. 615 aircraft were delivered to 5 countries.
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Block 50/52 (F-16 CJ/DJ) Block 50/52 was first delivered in late 1991, the aircraft are equipped with improved
GPS/
INS. The aircraft can carry a further batch of advanced missiles; the
AGM-88 HARM missile, JDAM, JSOW and WCMD. Block 50 aircraft are powered by the F110-GE-129 while the Block 52 jets use the F100-PW-229.
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Block 50/52 Plus (F-16U) Ordered by Polish Air Force. These aircraft are fitted with the latest avionics (including the
ALE-50 Towed Decoy System) and provisions for
Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs). The Greek Air Force ordered this version with the CFTs. All two-seat "Plus" airframes include the enlarged Avionics Dorsal Spine which adds 30 cubic feet (850 L) to the airframe for more avionics with only small increases in weight and drag. This version is sometimes called F-16U and is the foundation of F-16E/F Block 60.
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F-16I Block 50/52 Plus for Israeli Defense Force - Air Force, with significant Israeli avionics replacing that of American firms (Such as Israeli Aerial Towed Decoy replacing the ALE-50). The addition of Israeli-built autonomous aerial combat maneuvering instrumentation systems enables the training exercises to be conducted without the dependence on the ground instrumentation systems, and the helmet-mounted sight is also standard equipment. The F-16I also has the Israeli-built removable conformal fuel tanks added.
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F-16D/Block 52+ Block 50/52 Plus for Republic of Singapore Airforce (RSAF). Singapore's repeated and most recent order consist of an aircraft model rumoured to be the exact same configuration as the venerable F-16I, but re-designated to avoid sensitivity. The latest 18 D+ models can be noted to have the exact same antennas, sensor locations, cockpit configurations as that of the F-16I. Given the close relationship with Israel, it is no wonder Singapore could have sought the help of its faraway ally. These planes are also fitted with DASH-3 Helmet-mouted sighting system, 600-Gallon tanks, CFT, Python-4, AMRAAM, HARM and laser-guided weapons, fully-configured for long-range strike.
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F-16 CCIP The Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) seeks to standardise all Block 40/42/50/52 F-16s to 50/52 configuration for simplified training and maintenance. The $2 billion program was initiated in September 2001. In addition, the CCIP will incorporate a Link-16
datalink capability with the MIDS for data-sharing with allied aircraft, and the
Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for helmet-slaved aiming of the
AIM-9X.
Total delivered or on order as of 2005:
*United States Air Force: 2507 (some sold to other countries)
*United States Navy: 40
*Other air forces: 2401
**Royal Bahraini Air Force: 22
**Belgian Air Force: 160
**Chilean Air Force: 10+18
**Danish Air Force: 78
**Egyptian Air Force: 220
**Hellenic Air Force: 170
**Royal Jordanian Air Force: 24
**Indonesian Air Force: 10
**Israeli Air Force: 382
**Italian Air Force: 34
**Royal Netherlands Air Force: 137
**Royal Norwegian Air Force: 72
**Royal Oman Air Force: 12
**Pakistan Air Force: 34 (Pakistan is planning to acquire up to 36 F-16C/D Block-52 Plus and 26 used F-16A/B, along with Mid-Life Update kits for its existing F-16A/B).
**Polish Air Force: 48
**Portuguese Air Force: 45
**Republic of Singapore Air Force: 60
**Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Force: 150 (The Republic of China (Taiwan) is planning to acquire up to 66 new F-16C/D Block-52 as interim fighters until they are able to acquire the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter)
**Republic of Korea Air Force(ROKAF): 180
**Royal Thai Air Force: 61
**Turkish Air Force: 270
**United Arab Emirates Air Force: 80
**Venezuelan Air Force: 24
*Total number manufactured: 4,426
*Unit cost:
**F-16A/B: 1998USD 14.6 million
**F-16C/D: 1998USD 18.8 million
**F-16E/F: 1998USD 26.9 million
**F-16I: 2006USD ~70 million[*]
The Philippine Air Force (PhAF) also expressed its interest in the F-16 but its plan to purchase modern multi-role fighter aircraft to replace its retired F-5A/B Freedom Fighters has been shelved due to economic reasons and having counter-insurgency operations as its main priority. In the mid-1990s, the PhAF did not act on a US offer to sell 28 F-16A/B Block 15 OCU fighters, which were earlier embargoed from Pakistan.
The Republic of China (Taiwan)'s ROCAF, needing a next generation fighter to replace its fleet of F-16 A/B Block 20's, has expressed interest on the new F-35 Joint Strike Figher. However, due to political issues, it's unlikely the island nation will be able to acquire such an advanced fighter in the near future. As the result, the ROCAF has opted for up to 66 new F-16C/D Block50/52 as its interim replacement fighter.
*General Dynamics / Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (USA)
*Fokker (Netherlands)
*Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk and others (Norway)
*Korean Aerospace Industries (Korea)
*SABCA (Belgium)
*Turkish Aerospace Industries (Turkey)lists=
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