F-16s successfully repel enemy forces on the ground with the sound of their engines

40 years after its introduction, the F-16 still excels in all aspects of performance.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon, the best-selling multi-role fighter of our time, is a consummate performer, the preeminent air superiority combat aircraft and a first-class ground strike aircraft.

During the 2003 War on Terror, a U.S. F-16 was even able to scare off enemy forces without dropping weapons just by the roar of flight, quite like the “fierce Zhang Fei storm to scare off the enemy”.

In the evening of March 2003, two F-16s cruising in Iraqi airspace were notified to go to a war zone to support a British special operations team surrounded by Iraqi forces, when British troops numbered 52, but Iraqi forces numbered as many as 500, which meant that the ratio of friendly forces to enemy forces was almost 10 to 1.

To make matters worse, there was no light on the battlefield, how dark was it? Even when pilots used night vision goggles, they could not see the movement of troops on the ground.

As the situation on the ground worsened, the pilot heard on the radio that the battlefield was being overwhelmed by Iraqi forces pressing the British position, and that without other support, it was likely to be a siege battle.

Ed Lynch sent the F-16s supersonic at low altitude, creating a sonic boom that scared off enemy forces on the ground.

F-16 pilots use sonic bombers to save ground troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lt. Col. Ed Lynch suddenly came up with the idea of climbing the aircraft to a high altitude, then diving down and accelerating continuously, getting closer to the speed of sound as they approached the ground.

Then the F-16s broke the sound barrier at low altitude, and at the moment of supersonic speed, the huge sonic boom shook the ground, and the powerful sound wave and shock wave pounded the Iraqi army, making the Iraqi army think the F-16s were dropping bombs, so the Iraqi troops hurriedly took cover or retreated, stopping the advance on the British positions.

However, Lynch’s move was also quite dangerous, and just as he dived and completed his supersonic speed, he was also targeted by Iraqi anti-aircraft missiles and forced to perform an evasive maneuver. It was only after he returned to base that he learned of the successful evacuation of the British troops and sent a message thanking him for his “shocking support”.