F-16 fighter jets operating in Afghanistan.
The United States has many world-famous warplanes, such as the world’s most powerful warplane F-22 Raptor stealth heavy attack aircraft, the latest generation of stealth fighter F-35 Lightning II, a single range of more than 10,000 miles of B-1 Gunfighter supersonic bomber, the bomb load of 120 tons of B-52 long-range strategic heavy bomber, and so on.
However, the F-16 Fighting Falcon conventional fighter, which has been in service for more than half a century since the middle of the Cold War, is still the world’s most powerful air combat weapon today.
The full name of the F-16 fighter aircraft (F-16 Fighting Falcon), is the world’s most cost-effective, stable performance, the most powerful fighter aircraft, the total production of more than 4,600 aircraft, of which about 2,700 are still in the military service of various countries, there are now 26 countries in addition to the United States equipped with F-16 fighter jets of all types.
Israeli modified F-16 fighter. (Wikipedia)
The National Interest magazine website concluded that the idea of developing the F-16 began during the Vietnam War. At that time, the U.S. Army was equipped with the F-4 Phantom fighter, which did not perform well against the North Vietnamese Air Force because of immature long-range missile technology and its inability to fight in the air.
In 1972, McDonnell Douglas flew the F-15 Eagle twin-engine attack aircraft, which could reach 2.5 times the speed of sound and fly up to 20,000 meters, but was expensive at about $30 million per aircraft. Therefore, there is a strong argument for developing a low-cost light fighter that excels in short-range combat.
The early YF-16 (lower) and YF-17 (upper) were later developed into the famous F-16 fighter and F/A-18 Hornet, respectively. (Wikipedia)
In 1974, Northrop’s YF-17 Cobra and General Dynamics’ YF-16 entered the Department of Defense bid, and the compact YF-16 won the bid because it could exceed two times the speed of sound and accelerate so fast that it could reach 15,000 meters in one minute at a cost of less than $19 million, which became the world-famous F-16 Fighting Falcon. Fighting Falcon). Of course, Northrop’s YF-17 evolved into the famous Navy naval twin-engine F/A-18 Hornet.
The F-16 proved to be a compact but powerful and versatile fighter with low maintenance costs, making it a favorite among militaries.
The F-16 has a 15-meter-long fuselage, 9.5-meter wingspan, 5-meter height, an empty weight of nearly 8,600 kg, a maximum takeoff weight of about 19 tons, and a flight cost of $22,000 per hour. In contrast, the F-15 Eagle is large, with a fuselage length of 19 meters, a wingspan of 13 meters, a maximum takeoff weight of 30 tons, the ability to equip more munitions, and more offensive power, but the cost per hour of flight is about twice that of the F-16, at $42,000.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is only half the weight of the F-15, but still equipped with the same Pratt & Whitney F100 engine as the F-15, and the unique aerodynamic design of the F-16 shape for the nose forward, making it more flexible flight performance, able to turn, flip and climb extremely fast, really like an iron eagle flying freely in the air, it is amazing.
The bubble-shaped nacelle in the nose of the F-16 increases the pilot’s field of view. (Wikipedia)
The F-16 Fighting Falcon can be said to have ushered in a new era of fighter jets, with many of its unique designs, such as the negative balance aerodynamic structure, the wire transmission flight control operating system, and especially the hand stick-like pilot steering wheel becoming the standard configuration of modern fighter jets.
The F-16 can be described as an all-around air warrior. With its 20mm Vulcan gun under the nose, it is best suited for close-range aerial combat. In 1981, Israel flew eight F-16As to bomb the Osirak nuclear reactor near the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, dropping 16 907 kg Mk84 bombs to destroy the facility and force Saddam to halt his nuclear weapons program.
F-16 training module. (Wikipedia)
The F-16 can also mount electronic warfare equipment, turning it into an electronic warfare aircraft. the F-16 can also mount Maverick air-to-ground missiles and laser-guided bombs to carry out ground missile attacks, specifically against tanks and ground military engineering.
The F-16 was equipped with the APG-66 Doppler radar in later upgrades to enhance missile combat capabilities, thus raising the perception of missiles in real combat.
There are dozens of F-16 models, with the F-16C and D models undergoing extensive equipment upgrades using modern avionics and LCD operator panels, GPS navigation and positioning systems, and the new APG-68 radar, so they can fire the AIM-7 Sparrow long-range missile, the AIM-9X Rattlesnake infrared-guided missile, and the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile.
The F-16 Viper model is an upgraded F-16 fighter. (Wikipedia)
The pilots of the F-16C and D models wear visual helmets, creating a wide-angle field of view and eliminating the need to reorient the nose when observing enemy aircraft, which is more conducive to rapid targeting and locking on to the target.
Currently, new F-16s are equipped with larger fuel tanks to increase range at minimal cost, as well as APG-80 active electronically scanned radar arrays to enhance detection capabilities and allow pilots to see farther and better with a larger field of view, such as the F-16A/B block20 (or F-16V model) with upgraded APG-80 radar arrays, embedded GPS, Joint Helmet Targeting System, AN/ALQ-213 electronic warfare management system, and more.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon fully demonstrated its irreplaceable role in air combat, ground attack, and coordinated operations. in June 1982, the IAF deployed F-15s and F-16As in an air battle with Syria in the Bekaa Valley. Among other things, the F-16A shot down 44 Syrian Soviet MiG 21 and MiG 23 fighters without losing a single one.
The pilots wore joint combat visual helmets. (Wikipedia)
In the 1991 Gulf War, the U.S. Army sent F-16 strike groups into combat. The F-16s completed more than 13,000 combat missions, including dropping 907 kilograms (2,000-pound class) of heavy bombs and firing Maverick air-to-surface missiles to destroy Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles, as well as conducting the largest airstrike on military targets in Baghdad, using AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missiles to destroy Iraqi surface-to-air missile launch systems.
The F-16s shot down Iraqi MiG 25 Foxbats with AIM 120 Scorpion missiles to reinforce control of the “no-fly zone” over Iraq.
After the Gulf War, the F-16 became the absolute workhorse of the U.S. and NATO coalition air campaign in the former Yugoslavia, Syria and Iraq.
A CJ F-16 takes off from Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, with missiles, fuel tanks and other equipment on its wings. (Wikipedia)
F-16s have also conducted bombing missions to level ground communications and defense facilities and create favorable conditions for further air strikes during operations against dictatorial governments and terrorist groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Statistically, the F-16 has shot down seventy-six enemy aircraft in actual combat, while losing only one or two in air combat.
Today, although the United States is equipped with a new generation of more sophisticated warplanes, such as the F-35 stealth fighter, the Air Force is still equipped with 1,200 improved or upgraded F-16s of various types, and their service life will be extended beyond 2040.
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