hello everyone today we will show you the f-16 fighting falcon
the old fighter jet that keeps on killing
fast and extremely agile the light fighter does have some shortcomings in range and payload
compared to larger twin engine fighters like the f-15 eagle but that was way easy to forgive
due to costing less than half as much around 18 million in 1999 which is 27 million dollars today
the favorable bang for buck ratio has not been lost on air forces around the world
the f-16 currently remains the most popular aircraft in modern military service out of
4 500 produced nearly 2 700 currently remain in service in around 26 countries needless to say
the cutting-edge fourth generation fighter of the 1980s will remain with us for a good while longer
the f-16 was born out of the conundrum experience by the air force in the vietnam war fast and heavy
f-4 phantom fighters had under-performed against the north vietnamese air force due to their
immature long-range missile technology and lack of aptitude for tight maneuvering in dogfights
this led a faction known as the fighter mafia to argue that the air force had its
design priorities all wrong they said that what was really needed was a relatively
cheap lightweight airframe that maximized energy for short-range dogfight rather than
another heavy twin engine like the f-15 eagle that was then under development which would
doubtlessly be over-reliant on defective guided missiles in fact the eagle went on
to prove it was in fact possible to create a very maneuverable twin-engine jet fighter
if you don't mind the cost and air-to-air missiles which would improve dramatically as well
support for a light fighter eventually consolidated in the pentagon due to the
simple economics the air force liked the f-15 but realized it was too expensive to equip all
of its fighter squadrons so it came to seek a high-low force mix eventually two prototypes
faced off in a competitive trial in 1974. the northrop yf-17 and the general dynamics yf-16
the latter was unanimously found to be more responsive while the former evolved
into the hornet fighters now serving in the marines and us navy the first
production f-16as went on to enter service in 1980 joined by the two-seat f-16b variant
the single-engine f-16 leveraged new design technologies to maximize kinematic performance
a powerful pratt whitney f-100 engine with the intake slung under the fuselage could generate an
excellent thrust of weight ratio due to the overall lightness of the falcon
propelling the f-16 to twice the speed of sound at a high altitude pronounced strokes bulged out
like the hood of a cobra from the fuselage to support the crop delta wings enabling very high
roll rates a bulging bubble canopy afforded an excellent field of view for the pilot
who was lounged in a seat angle 30 degrees back so as to mitigate the g-forces from violent maneuvers
and the f-16 could pull off very violent maneuvers indeed becoming the first jet fighter able to pull
nine g's in a turn tighter than any other us fighter until the advent of the f-22 raptor
this explains the type service in the air force thunderbirds aerobatic team
in fact to maximize its maneuverability the f-16 was intentionally designed to be aerodynamically
unstable a deficit which its flight control system automatically compensated for
this worked thanks to the f-16s then revolutionary fly-by-wire control scheme which basically meant
that the pilot's controls were interpreted via an electronic interface instead of via hydraulic
or cable-connected manual controls not only were fly-by-wire controls more reliable but
they made it possible for the flight computer to correct the pilot's maneuvers as necessary
to avoid exceeding the falcons tolerances another feature was an integrated throttle in the joystick
known as hands on throttle and stick or hotas enabling much smoother operation by the pilot
fly fly-by-wire and hotas have since become standard features in modern combat aircraft
unlike the f-14 and f-15 models the falcon was also designed as a multi-role
fighter as it could lug up to 17 000 pounds of munitions or electronic warfare gear in its 11
hardpoints including a new generation of precision guided weapons such as maverick missiles and
laser-guided bombs a 20-millimeter vulcan cannon in the lower fuselage served as a backup weapon
ironically while the fighter mafia had little faith in guided missile technology
the f-16 arrived just when such weapons attained a new level of efficiency and the falcons apg-66
doppler radar heads-up display and targeting computers were able to leverage these weapons to
deadly effect this was demonstrated in june 1982 when israeli f-15s and f-16as engaged in a
massive three-day air battle over the becca valley against syrian jet fighters the israeli falcons
down 44 syrian mig-21s and 23s without suffering a single loss a year earlier in 1981 the falcons had
demonstrated their versatility when eight of the brand new fighters bombed the osirak reactor in
baghdad with 16 2 000 pound mark 84 bombs bringing saddam hussein's nuclear program to a halt
by the mid-1980s the currently serving f-16cs and two seat d models entered service
these boasted modernized avionics such as liquid crystal displays a new apg-68 radars that allowed
for long-range missile engagements with newer aim 7 sparrow and forthcoming aim 120 a-ram missiles
the c and d have since undergone several more incremental upgrades including better radars gps
targeted weapon capabilities and the integration of the aim 9x sidewinder heat seeking missile
which the pilot can target using a helmet mounted queuing system allowing an f-16 to shoot at an
enemy within visual range without having to line them up directly in front of its nose
the us f-16 fleet first saw action in the 1991 gulf war where it flew more than 13 000 strike
missions loaded down with 2 000 pound bombs and maverick missiles f-16s embarked on the largest
airstrike ever over downtown baghdad during the 72 ship farm q though two of the falcons were shot
down by air defense missiles during the raid and their pilots captured one squadron took on wild
weasel duties by hunting down iraqi surface-to-air missile batteries with agm-88 har missiles
the air force also attempted to boost the f-16 as a replacement for the a-10 thunderbolt
in the close air support role by equipping f-16 c's and d's
of the 138th fighter squadron with paved claw 30 millimeter gatling cannon parts
however the lightweight jets were so shaken up by the weapons recoil that the idea was
abandoned and the a-10 fleet survived yet another of many assassination attempts by air force brass
after the formal end of hostilities f-16s enforcing the no-fly zone over iraq scored the
first kill using the long-range aim 120 scorpion missiles when they downed a speedy mig-25 foxbat
since the gulf war the falcon has been ubiquitous in u.s and nato air campaigns over the former
yugoslavia iraq and syria american and belgian f-16 shot down additional enemy fighters over
serbia and kosovo during the 1990s though two were brought down by serb surface-to-air missiles
the f-16s sold abroad have also seen action in plenty of conflicts
pakistani f-16 shot down 10 soviet and afghan aircraft on its border during the 1980s
in 1992 two venezuelan falcon pilots played a key role in defeating a coup
of supporters by hugo chavez by shooting down two rebel ov-10 broncos and a tucano trainer
by one count the falcon has shot down 76 enemy aircraft while only suffering one
or two losses in aerial combat generally under ambiguous circumstances for example a pakistani
f-16 shot down another one by accident and a greek mirage downed a turkish f-16 in what had
formerly been a mock aerial combat and of course falcons have continued to serve as bomb-toting
workhorses for airstrikes on targets in lebanon iraq libya syria afghanistan and pakistan
the most sophisticated f-16s in service today aren't in the us air force unit but rather
block 62 f-16 ease and fs ordered by the united arab emirates the new f-16s boast conformal fuel
tanks that greatly extend the falcons short range at minimal aerodynamic cost as well as an apg-80
active electronically scanned array radar aesa radars represent the cutting edge of fighter-borne
radar technology due to their superior resolution and lower visibility to enemy radars
currently an even more advanced block 70 version is being considered for production in india
however the costs for these newer falcons have also skyrocketed due to delays and cost overruns
in the f-35 stealth fighter program the us air force intends to continue flying its 1200 f-16s
well into the 2040s by extending the airframe service life from eight to twelve thousand hours
the fighting falcon has proven to be a fine and versatile combat jet and furthermore by one count
it costs twenty two thousand dollars per flight to operate compared to 42 000 for a twin-engine f-15
if the agile little fighter has any shortcomings it's that the americans f-16 radar has fallen
out of date and that the type was never designed to carry a great deal of fuel
limiting its combat radius to just 340 miles on internal stores the pentagon should eventually
consider reasonable measures to keep that fleet up to date notably the incorporation
of apg-83 aesa radars in the adoption of conformal fuel tanks these issues aside
the f-16 has more than had its current popular nickname among pilots as the viper and will
continue to occupy a prominent role in military aviation across the globe for decades to come
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