With its iconic bubble canopy and advanced helmet-mounted displays, the F-16 Fighting Falcon is one of the supreme Fourth Generation air-superiority fighters in the world today. First flown by the US Air Force in the mid 1980s, Lockheed Martin have since delivered about 4,600 F-16s to over 25 countries and more than 3,000 F-16 fighters are currently operational worldwide. The Fighting Falcon is highly adaptable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack in a variety of conflicts over the last 40 years.
The F-16's versatility and durability has meant it can be adapted to a number of roles, including air superiority, reconnaissance and ground attack. In an air combat role, the F-16's maneuverability and combat radius exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. USAF F-16 multirole fighters were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm, where more sorties were flown than with any other aircraft. These fighters were used to attack airfields, Scud missiles sites and a key military infrastructure. Other allied air forces, such as Israel, have heavily adapted the F-16 for their own use, and the Israeli F-16I Soufa (Storm) has proved itself in numerous combat situations in the 21st century. Today, constant technology and weapons' upgrades mean the F-16 is planned to serve through to 2060.
Packed with 100 vivid artworks and photographs, F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact reference guide for lovers of this iconic aircraft and aviation enthusiasts.
Table of Contents:
Contents
Origins and LWF The F-16 fighting falcon was built under an unusual agreement creating a consortium between the United States and four NATO countries: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. These countries jointly produced with the United States an initial 348 F-16s for their air forces.
F-16A/B: The First Generation The F-16A, a single-seat model, 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.
F-16C/D: Vipers for a New Era 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. This improvement program led to the F-16C and F-16D aircraft, which are the single- and two-place counterparts to the F-16A/B, and incorporate the latest cockpit control and display technology.
FEATURE: F-16I Sufa (Storm) The F-16I is a two-seat variant of the Block 52 developed for the Israeli Defense Force. Israel issued a requirement in September 1997 and selected the F-16 in preference to the F-15I in July 1999. An initial contract was signed on 14 January 2000 for a total procurement of 102 aircraft. The F-16I, which is called Sufa (Storm) by the IDF/AF, first flew on 23 December 2003, and deliveries to the IDF/AF began on 19 February 2004.
F-16E/F: Beyond Block 50 F-16E (single seat) and F-16F (two seat). The F-16E/F designation now belongs to a version developed especially for the United Arab Emirates Air Force, and is sometimes unofficially called the ‘Desert Falcon’. The F-16V is dubbed the ‘Viper’, which is intended to better operate with fifth-generation fighters, and should not be confused with Lockheed's F-16IN Block 70/72‘Super Viper. The F-16V is being delivered to the Royal Bahraini Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Republic of Korea Air Force, Turkish Air Force and Slovak Air Force.
US Operators The US Air Force (USAF) has always been the most important operator of the F-16, nwith 2,230 production airframes having been delivered in successive versions, from the very first Block 1 jets to the advanced Block 52s.
European Operators F-16A(R) – About two dozen F-16As of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) were supplied with indigenous Oude Delft Orpheus low-altitude tactical reconnaissance pods transferred from its retiring RF-104G. Designated F-16A(R), the first example flew on 27 January 1983, and they entered service with the RNLAF's 306 Squadron in October 1984. RF-16A/C – The designation RF-16A is used, though, by the Royal Danish Air Force. In early 1994, 10 Danish F-16A were redesignated as RF-16A tactical recce aircraft, replacing the RF-35 Drakens withdrawn at the end of 1993.
African and Middle Eastern Operators The first of the F-16 customers in the Gulf region, Bahrain selected the aircraft as part of a modernisation programme for the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAD) launched in the late 1980s. After acquiring 22 F-16C/D Block 40 aircraft in two batches, Bahrain subsequently placed orders for 16 of the latest-production Block 70 version, from the new production line at Greenville in South Carolina. The first Block 70 aircraft to be formally rolled out, a two-seat F-16D model, in March 2023, was also the first of the nnew batch for the RBAF.
Asia-Pacific Operators The F-16 is the most numerous fighter jet in the inventory of the South Korean air arm – the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) – with a total of 180 F-16C/D aircraft having been acquired in both Block 30 and Block 52 versions. South Korea also locally assembled some of these aircraft, which are alternatively known as KF-16s.
FEATURE: Mitsubishi F-2 – The basis of the F-2's design is the F-16 Agile Falcon, an unsuccessful offer by General Dynamics to provide a low-cost alternative for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition. Production started in 1996 and the first aircraft entered service in 2000.
South American Operators Venezuela was the first Latin American nation to be approved to buy the F-16 and remained the only user in the South American continent until it was joined by Chile more than two decades later. The status of the Venezuelan F-16 fleet has long been precarious, ever since Hugo Chávez became president and the country established close relationships (including military) with China and Russia. The same policy continued under Chávez’s successor, Nicolás Maduro, with the United States blocking any further weapons sales to Caracas. Despite this, the Venezuelan Air Force manages to retain its F-16 fleet in an operational condition, albeit at a very low state of readiness.
About the Author :
Ryan Cunningham is an aviation and defence writer and editor who has worked on numerous aviation books and magazines over the last 20 years.
