General Dynamics / Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

The F-16 Fighting Falcon can officially go down as one of the most successful aircraft designs of the Cold War. The system was designed in a head-to-head competition with the Northrop YF-17 Cobra and successfully defeated it in trails for the United States Air Force for a lightweight multi-role fighter (The YF-17 Cobra would later reappear as the larger and more potent F/A-18 Hornet series). The integration of a powerful single engine, the latest in avionics and computer-assisted flight and various other innovations into the system have made the F-16 a success at home for American forces and abroad in a myriad of other country's inventories.

The system is built around the powerful Pratt & Whitney afterburning engine capable of 23,830 lbs of thrust. The platform as a whole is so adaptable that it can field a plethora of weaponry from runway-denial munitions and air-to-air missiles to anti-armor and anti-radar homing missiles. The large clear-vision canopy affords the pilot an unfettered views up, front, rear and sides-down. The seat angle is also adjusted to a more extreme 30 degrees to allow for greater pilot comfort and increased resistance to black outs at increased G speeds.

The platform is designed to the ultimate in aerodynamic standards, with a mid-monoplane wing assembly capable of fitting most of the ordnance underwing in addition to AIM-9 Sidewinders or AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles on the wingtips. Connections at each of the six major wing hardpoints allow for the clustering of drop bombs and Maverick air-to-ground missiles. The centerline of the fuselage, dominated by the identifiable broad-mouth intake opening can also field FLIR equipment and a drop tank. At rear, the fuselage is mounted with a single rudder control system and two angled elevator assemblies. Trainer and strike-defined variants also feature twin-seating in the cockpit.

Inside the cockpit, the pilot is assisted by an array of digital systems including fly-by-wire controls. The flight stick is mounted off to the side instead of a traditional center-mounted column and the multi-function displays can provide the pilot with a myriad of veiwing options. The system is very user-friendly in terms of flying, tracking and even featuring an automated landing system to boot.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is fielded by many major countries as a frontline multirole fighter. It has already seen action in countless theaters and was one of the major spearheads for American forces in the Persian Gulf War versus Iraq in the early 1990's. Ther versatility of the system provided the United States and coalition forces with a viable weapon to use with the ever-changing battlefield.

The United States Air Force further pushes the capabilities of the F-16 series in using it for its "Thunderbirds" air show troupe. The highly agile and maneuverable systems have proven to be quite the showcase in any air show demonstration, providing the public with a good idea of the power inherent in such a well-designed system.

The F-16XL was a technology demonstrator looking into the idea of an F-16 with a delta-wing design approach. The added wing area allowed for increased drag and lift in addition to an improved weapons-carrying capacity. This system never went into production but it shows to what lengths the successful airframe was being pushed to.

Several countries produce the F-16 under license (Belgium being one of them) and the system is primed for a further decade of service thanks in part to upgrade and modernization programs along with the already robust capabilities. Mitsubishi produced the F-2 fighter for its own self-defense forces, highly based on the General Dynamics design yet fielded as a larger and heavier variant with Japanese-designed software systems.

To that end, the F-16 Fighting Falcon will remain in frontline service with some forces for some time to come. The system has proven itself to be quite the potent adversary, either in the air-to-ground role or the air-to-air role, as it has also proven its reliability under fire. The great care taken into the early design of this lightweight fighter has paid great dividends to the contracting firms yet also to many nations depending on a capable aircraft to defend its borders.

The Iraqi Air Force is set to receive 36 F-16 Block 52/60 models.

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Last Revision: 9/14/2009