General Dynamics F-16A Falcon
The lessons of the Vietnam War brought home to the USAF that the dogfight was not yet obsolete, as missile-armed F-4 Phantom IIs struggled against comparatively primitive but extremely agile North Vietnamese MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters. The USAF had already begun its F-X program to succeed the F-4 as well as counter the Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat; this became the F-15 Eagle.
However, as the F-X was going to be a large interceptor, American fighter tactician John Boyd was among those who proposed a lighter, smaller, and more agile dogfighter to complement the F-X. Overcoming a great deal of opposition, this “fighter mafia” eventually got the USAF to sponsor a Lightweight Fighter (LWF) competition beginning in March 1972, which Boeing, Northrop, and General Dynamics all submitted designs to, despite no guarantee of an eventual sale.
Eventually the General Dynamics YF-16A Fighting Falcon and Northrop YF-17 Cobra won the competition, prototypes were built, and the competition opened anew. The YF-16A, which had accidentally made its first flight during a high-speed taxi test in January 1973, won the competition, and the USAF, which had by now warmed to the idea of a low-cost day fighter, placed an initial order of no less than 650 aircraft. In addition to this number, a European consortium of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway had decided on the F-16 to replace the F-104G Starfighter in the strike role, to be built under license in Belgium and the Netherlands. The F-16A entered service in October 1980.
Built to be agile above all other considerations, the F-16 is indeed that. Made deliberately unstable, the F-16 can be flown only by fly-by-wire microprocessors (leading to an early nickname, “Electric Jet”) and is easily capable of making turns in excess of 9Gs. To better resist these forces, the pilot’s seat is inclined 30 degrees, but the F-16 remains able to take more punishment than the pilot. In contrast to the YF-16 prototype, production models had larger tailplanes for better stability (though a few “small tail” F-16A Block 15s remained in service until the late 1990s) and a larger nose to house the APG-66 radar. Since the LWF concept called for a day fighter, the F-16A lacked BVR capability, relying on its internal M61 Vulcan gun and AIM-9 Sidewinders for dogfighting. Almost by accident, the F-16 was found to be able to carry a great deal of ordnance with minimal loss of performance, making it an excellent strike and air support aircraft, though it lacked all-weather capability.
Besides the European NATO nations, the F-16 was also exported to Israel, and there it found its first successes, participating in the long-range strike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in June 1981. A year later, Israeli F-16s shot down 44 Syrian MiGs in air combat over the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Most F-16As received the Block 15 MSIP upgrade, introducing a wide-angle HUD and the ability to carry the AGM-45 Shrike antiradar missile, the AGM-65 Maverick ground attack missile, and the AGM-119 Penguin antiship missile, as well as engine upgrades and a more robust internal ECM suite.
Though increasingly replaced by the F-16C/D series, F-16A/B models remain in service worldwide. NATO aircraft received the MLU upgrade beginning in 1989, giving them only slightly lesser capability than the F-16C/D; this includes an uprated computer, upgraded avionics, and the ability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM as well as the full plethora of precision-guided weapons. In addition, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Venezuela still operate small numbers of F-16A/Bs, most of them upgraded to one extent or another.
Dad had an older F-16A (built from the 1/48 Revell kit), and decided to "update" it to better reflect current Israeli F-16As. As such, it has a different cockpit and tail ECM bulges (provided by an IsraDecal update set), and is painted in standard IDF/AF F-16 camouflage of tan, brown, and mint green over medium gray; the tail markings on this particular F-16 are in Hebrew, with the Roman numeral moved to the rear fuselage. It is configured for pure dogfighting, with six AIM-9L Sidewinders and two drop tanks. It also wears the patch of 117 Squadron, based at Ramat David.
General Dynamics F-16A Falcon
The lessons of the Vietnam War brought home to the USAF that the dogfight was not yet obsolete, as missile-armed F-4 Phantom IIs struggled against comparatively primitive but extremely agile North Vietnamese MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters. The USAF had already begun its F-X program to succeed the F-4 as well as counter the Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat; this became the F-15 Eagle.
However, as the F-X was going to be a large interceptor, American fighter tactician John Boyd was among those who proposed a lighter, smaller, and more agile dogfighter to complement the F-X. Overcoming a great deal of opposition, this “fighter mafia” eventually got the USAF to sponsor a Lightweight Fighter (LWF) competition beginning in March 1972, which Boeing, Northrop, and General Dynamics all submitted designs to, despite no guarantee of an eventual sale.
Eventually the General Dynamics YF-16A Fighting Falcon and Northrop YF-17 Cobra won the competition, prototypes were built, and the competition opened anew. The YF-16A, which had accidentally made its first flight during a high-speed taxi test in January 1973, won the competition, and the USAF, which had by now warmed to the idea of a low-cost day fighter, placed an initial order of no less than 650 aircraft. In addition to this number, a European consortium of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway had decided on the F-16 to replace the F-104G Starfighter in the strike role, to be built under license in Belgium and the Netherlands. The F-16A entered service in October 1980.
Built to be agile above all other considerations, the F-16 is indeed that. Made deliberately unstable, the F-16 can be flown only by fly-by-wire microprocessors (leading to an early nickname, “Electric Jet”) and is easily capable of making turns in excess of 9Gs. To better resist these forces, the pilot’s seat is inclined 30 degrees, but the F-16 remains able to take more punishment than the pilot. In contrast to the YF-16 prototype, production models had larger tailplanes for better stability (though a few “small tail” F-16A Block 15s remained in service until the late 1990s) and a larger nose to house the APG-66 radar. Since the LWF concept called for a day fighter, the F-16A lacked BVR capability, relying on its internal M61 Vulcan gun and AIM-9 Sidewinders for dogfighting. Almost by accident, the F-16 was found to be able to carry a great deal of ordnance with minimal loss of performance, making it an excellent strike and air support aircraft, though it lacked all-weather capability.
Besides the European NATO nations, the F-16 was also exported to Israel, and there it found its first successes, participating in the long-range strike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in June 1981. A year later, Israeli F-16s shot down 44 Syrian MiGs in air combat over the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Most F-16As received the Block 15 MSIP upgrade, introducing a wide-angle HUD and the ability to carry the AGM-45 Shrike antiradar missile, the AGM-65 Maverick ground attack missile, and the AGM-119 Penguin antiship missile, as well as engine upgrades and a more robust internal ECM suite.
Though increasingly replaced by the F-16C/D series, F-16A/B models remain in service worldwide. NATO aircraft received the MLU upgrade beginning in 1989, giving them only slightly lesser capability than the F-16C/D; this includes an uprated computer, upgraded avionics, and the ability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM as well as the full plethora of precision-guided weapons. In addition, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Venezuela still operate small numbers of F-16A/Bs, most of them upgraded to one extent or another.
Dad had an older F-16A (built from the 1/48 Revell kit), and decided to "update" it to better reflect current Israeli F-16As. As such, it has a different cockpit and tail ECM bulges (provided by an IsraDecal update set), and is painted in standard IDF/AF F-16 camouflage of tan, brown, and mint green over medium gray; the tail markings on this particular F-16 are in Hebrew, with the Roman numeral moved to the rear fuselage. It is configured for pure dogfighting, with six AIM-9L Sidewinders and two drop tanks. It also wears the patch of 117 Squadron, based at Ramat David.