View allAll Photos Tagged generaldynamics
PictionID:48523239 - Catalog:14_026431 - Title:GD/Astronautics Details: Mock Up of D/IOC Missile; View Forward-LOX Fill/Drain Valve Date: 08/07/1958 - Filename:14_026431.tif - - Images from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
MArkings: 61st Fighter Squadron (61 FS) is part of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
SN:83-1161
Specifications (F-16C Block 30)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 49 ft 5 in (14.8 m)
Wingspan: 32 ft 8 in (9.8 m)
Height: 16 ft (4.8 m)
Wing area: 300 ft² (27.87 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 64A204 root and tip
Empty weight: 18,900 lb (8,670 kg)
Loaded weight: 26,500 lb (12,000 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 42,300 lb (19,200 kg)
Powerplant: 1× F110-GE-100 afterburning turbofan
Dry thrust: 17,155 lbf (76.3 kN)
Thrust with afterburner: 28,600 lbf (128.9 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed:
At sea level: Mach 1.2 (915 mph, 1,470 km/h)
At altitude: Mach 2+ (1,500 mph, 2,414 km/h)
Combat radius: 340 mi (295 nm, 550 km) on a hi-lo-hi mission with six 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs
Ferry range: 2,280 NM (2,620 mi, 4,220 km) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 60,000+ ft (18,000+ m)
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
Wing loading: 88.3 lb/ft² (431 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 1.095
Armament
Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan gatling gun, 515 rounds
Hardpoints: 2× wing-tip Air-to-air missile launch rails, 6× under-wing & 3× under-fuselage pylon stations holding up to 20,450 lb (9,276 kg) of payload
Rockets:
4× LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19× /7× Hydra 70 mm rockets, respectively) or
4× LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19× CRV7 70 mm rockets) or
4× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× Zuni 127 mm rockets)
Missiles:
Air-to-air missiles:
2× AIM-7 Sparrow or
6× AIM-9 Sidewinder or
6× IRIS-T or
6× AIM-120 AMRAAM or
6× Python-4
Air-to-ground missiles:
6× AGM-45 Shrike or
6× AGM-65 Maverick or
4× AGM-88 HARM
Anti-ship missiles:
2× AGM-84 Harpoon or
4× AGM-119 Penguin
Bombs:
2× CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition
2× CBU-89 Gator mine
2× CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon
Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser capable
4× GBU-10 Paveway II
6× GBU-12 Paveway II
6× Paveway-series laser-guided bombs
4× JDAM
4× Mark 84 general-purpose bombs
8× Mark 83 GP bombs
12× Mark 82 GP bombs
B61 nuclear bomb
Others:
SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod or
AN/ALQ-131 & AN/ALQ-184 ECM pods or
LANTIRN, Lockheed Martin Sniper XR & LITENING targeting pods or
up to 3× 300/330/370 US gallon Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time.
Avionics
AN/APG-68 radar
87065734 :Piction ID--Convair 1010 concept model at 1:144 scale 05/09/1963---Please tag these photos so information can be recorded.---- Digitization of this image made possible by a grant from NEH: NEH and the San Diego Air and Space Museum
Leeuwarden, 11 April 2018.
J-015 was with Volkel based 312 squadron in 2018. This could be the most photographed Dutch F-16 as it was the Orange Lion for a four years.
USAF General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark s/n 63-9766, Le Bourget, Paris, 25 May 1967. Keystone Press photo.
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft with over 4,600 built since 1976. Although no longer purchased by the U.S. Air Force, improved versions are being built for export. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta.
The F-16's key features include a frameless bubble canopy for enhanced cockpit visibility, a side-mounted control stick to ease control while maneuvering, an ejection seat reclined 30 degrees from vertical to reduce the effect of g-forces on the pilot, and the first use of a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire flight control system that helps to make it an agile aircraft. The fighter has a single turbofan engine, an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 hardpoints. Although officially named "Fighting Falcon", the aircraft is commonly known by the nickname "Viper" among its crews and pilots.
In addition to active duty in the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, and Air National Guard units, the aircraft is also used by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team, the US Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Team, and as an adversary/aggressor aircraft by the United States Navy. The F-16 has also been procured by the air forces of 25 other nations. As of 2025, it is the world's most common fixed-wing aircraft in military service, with 2,084 F-16s operational.
Willard Martin (b. 1917) held various jobs before he was hired by Convair San Diego as a metal worker. For the next 30 years, Martin worked at Convair, eventually serving much of his career as the Operations General Supervisor, a task that involved supervising experiment department operations, engineering test lap support, model shop operations, mockup and wind tunnel support. In addition, he managed all instrumentation fabrication, installation and field support operations for the Cruise Missile Program and others. In 1976, he was elected by members of the National Management Association, General Dynamics Convair Chapter, as Director of Public Relations from 1976 to 1977.
Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
F-111F. C.N. 18. 493rd TFS at RAF Lakenheath. Withdrawn from Service to AMARC 18 October 1995 as AA FV0217. Scrapped in June 2012. Photo Credit's: Unknown to me (Kodachrome Slide dated June 1980)
112th Fighter Squadron "Stingers" Air National Guard Toledo,Ohio on static display London Airshow 2017 CYXU
The age and vulnerability of the EB-66 Destroyer electronic countermeasures aircraft led the USAF to begin considering a replacement in 1967. At first, the USAF strongly considered adopting the US Navy’s EA-6B Prowler, which was just coming into service. However, the Prowler was not supersonic, and the USAF wanted an aircraft that could survive penetrating heavy enemy air defenses. As a result, the USAF settled on the F-111A Aardvark in 1972: the aircraft was proven, it would be cheaper than developing an entirely new aircraft, the F-111A was already slated for replacement by the F-111D, and it had all the range and speed the USAF required.
Though the F-111 was built by General Dynamics and the conversion work would be handled there, Grumman had developed the ALQ-99 jamming suite that would equip the EF-111A. Indeed, the EF-111 would have the same football-shaped reciever antenna of the EA-6B mounted atop the tail, though because of the variable-sweep wing box, transmitters could not be carried in the fuselage; instead, they were moved to a ventral “canoe.” All bombing equipment was removed, along with the internal gun, and flight controls were wholly moved to the pilot’s station. Though the EF-111 could in theory carry AIM-9 Sidewinders for self-defense, it rarely would, nor could it carry antiradar missiles to allow it to operate in the Wild Weasel role. The EF-111 would be dedicated to ECM support, both in standoff jamming and accompanying strike packages directly to the target.
The EF-111 first flew in March 1977 and was initially nicknamed “Electric Fox,” but this was officially changed to Raven in 1983, when it entered service, though crews referred to it as the “Spark ‘Vark.” It was first used in combat during Operation Eldorado Canyon in 1986 against Libya, Operation Just Cause against Panama, and then against Iraq in the First Gulf War of 1991. Only one EF-111 was lost in combat, and strike packages with EF-111 support never lost an aircraft to SAM missiles during the war. Ravens would continue in service after this conflict, seeing use over Bosnia, supporting no-fly zone patrols over Iraq, and finally in Operation Desert Fox retaliatory airstrikes in 1998.
This was the last deployment of the EF-111, and the USAF retired its last Ravens in May 1998, ending not only the F-111 series in USAF service, but also (at the time of this writing) dedicated USAF tactical ECM aircraft. Since the retirement of the Raven, the USAF has relied on US Navy and Marine Corps EA-6Bs, with a number of USAF crews being crosstrained into EA-6B crews. Though there have been proposals for dedicated ECM aircraft, the USAF has no plans at the moment to deploy ECM aircraft.
Of 42 EF-111s built, there are four left in existence today. This is 66-0057, built originally as a F-111A in 1966; it initially served with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing at Mountain Home, Idaho, and may have seen combat over Vietnam. It was converted to an EF-111A in 1975 and returned to the 366th, though it spent the 1980s assigned to the 20th TFW at RAF Upper Heyford in the UK. Back with the 366th by 1990, it was then deployed for Operation Desert Storm to Taif AB, Saudi Arabia. 66-0057 finally was retired in 1998 and flown for preservation at the National Museum of the USAF at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, where I saw it in May 2017.
At some point in its career, 66-0057 was named "Special Delivery" with nose art of a stork carrying a bomb. Sadly, she is not displayed with the art, and instead is somewhat anonymous; 66-0057 is painted in standard EF-111 colors of medium gray over light gray, though from the lighting at this angle, it looks to be overall light gray. The cockpit in the foreground is the crew escape module used by the Aardvark and the Raven.
F-16A Block 15F. C.N. 61-432. To Jordanian Air Force 26 January 2003 as 673. Photo location unknown. Photo Credit's: Unknown to me (Kodachrome Slide)
F-111F. C.N. 98. 493rd FS at RAF Lakenheath. Withdrawn from service to AMARC 10 July 1996 as AA FV0288. Scrapped in June 2012. Photo Credit's: Unknown to me (Kodachrome Slide)
PictionID:43057053 - Catalog:14_003901 - Title:Atlas 88D- Mercury Details: Prelaunch of MA-4; Pad 14; Mercury Booster -unmanned 09/13/1961 - Filename:14_003901.TIF - - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Piction ID: 83794608 First launch of USAF ground launched cruise missile--Please tag these photos so information can be recorded.---Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Willard Martin (b. 1917) held various jobs before he was hired by Convair San Diego as a metal worker. For the next 30 years, Martin worked at Convair, eventually serving much of his career as the Operations General Supervisor, a task that involved supervising experiment department operations, engineering test lap support, model shop operations, mockup and wind tunnel support. In addition, he managed all instrumentation fabrication, installation and field support operations for the Cruise Missile Program and others. In 1976, he was elected by members of the National Management Association, General Dynamics Convair Chapter, as Director of Public Relations from 1976 to 1977.
Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
PictionID:48523917 - Catalog:14_026483 - Title:GD/Astronautics Manufacturing Details: Electronic Manufacturing; Girl Working Assembly Circuit Board Date: 03/24/1965 - Filename:14_026483.tif - - Images from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Like the General Dynamics F-111 Cutaway Drawing?
Buy reprints, posters and framed photos of the General Dynamics F-111 Cutaway Drawing on the Flightglobal Image store ... www.flightglobalimages.com/general-dynamics-f-111-cutaway...
Beginning in the early 1960s, the USAF sought a replacement for the F-105 Thunderchief: while the F-105 was a good aircraft, it needed long runways that would be vulnerable in wartime and was not as long-ranged as the USAF might like. Simultaneously, the US Navy noticed that Soviet antiship missiles were becoming more advanced and longer-ranged, which would put their current fleet defense aircraft, the F-4 Phantom II, at a disadvantage. The Navy was especially interested in the AIM-54 Phoenix that provided very long-range capability. Though the two services wanted vastly different aircraft, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered that both seek a common aircraft to save money and development time, as had been done with the F-4; McNamara’s order came over the objections of both USAF and Navy researchers. Nonetheless, the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) project began work in 1961.
Immediately, TFX ran into trouble. The Navy wanted side-by-side seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2 and a fuselage length adequate for carrier operations; the USAF wanted tandem seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 and a long fuselage for better performance. About the only things the two services could agree on was the need for two engines and variable sweep wings, which would satisfy both services’ need for shorter distance takeoffs and landings. Only Boeing and General Dynamics’ proposals reached mockup stage, and McNamara personally ordered the General Dynamics design based on its better commonality of parts, despite the services preference for the Boeing version and the fact that General Dynamics had never built a naval fighter before. The new aircraft was designated F-111, in theory making it the last of the Century Series.
The problems with the F-111 now compounded. The F-111B carrier defense fighter was inadequate in every way, lacked the performance the Navy wanted, and it was too heavy for carrier operations. The F-111B was cancelled in 1967—though its AWG-9 fire control system and the Phoenix missile would live on in the F-14 Tomcat. The USAF’s F-111A had somewhat easier development, flying first in December 1964. Wing cracks and intake issues were addressed, and the F-111A entered USAF service in July 1967, then deployed to Vietnam under Project Combat Lancer in 1968.
Combat Lancer was a miserable failure: of six F-111As sent to Vietnam, three were lost in a month. The F-111 was grounded and in danger of cancellation until the USAF discovered the problem: the “box” that contained the wing sweep mechanism was flawed, as were the tailplanes, which could lock downwards without warning. The latter was traced to a glitch in the terrain-following computer, but the wing box problems were known by General Dynamics before delivery—and ignored to meet contract requirements. The troubles of the F-111 led to derisive nicknames from its crews, such as the “Supersonic Edsel,” “McNamara’s Folly,” and “Aardvark,” due to its long nose and propensity to stick it into the ground. The latter nickname stuck and became the informal name for the aircraft, though it would not be until 1995 that the USAF officially named the F-111 Aardvark.
Following personnel changes at General Dynamics and yet more rework to the design, F-111s returned to Vietnam in September 1972, with some trepidation. This time, however, the F-111 finally proved itself: operating without tanker or jamming support, F-111s would attack North Vietnamese targets alone, at night and often in bad weather, moving so quickly and so low that North Vietnamese air defense could not react in time. Though clearly the Aardvark was no fighter, as a strike aircraft it had few peers. Its terrain-following radar was the best in the world, and it combined high speed penetration with a good bombload.
The USAF began subsequent improvement of the design. The F-111D had an even more advanced fire control system, the first USAF aircraft to use a microprocessor computer, and better Triple Plow II intakes, which spared the Aardvark the catastrophic engine failure that plagued the other user of the TF30 engine, the F-14 Tomcat. The F-111D’s computer was plagued with trouble, so the USAF then fielded the F-111E/F variants, which had simpler fire control but better avionics; the F-111F was optimized for precision attack, equipped with the radar of the FB-111 and the AVQ-26 Pave Tack laser designator.
While the early F-111As were converted to EF-111A Raven ECM aircraft and the F-111D ended up being simply retired rather than fixed, the “simple” F-111E/Fs proved to be superb in USAF service. Australia was the only export customer for the Aardvark, flying F-111Cs from 1973; the United Kingdom cancelled its order of F-111Ks in 1968.
In 1986, F-111s spearheaded Operation Eldorado Canyon, which crippled the regime of Moammar Qaddafi in Libya, while during the First Gulf War of 1991, Aardvarks completely destroyed oil facilities at Kirkuk, used laser-guided bombs to destroy over 1500 Iraqi tanks, and completed nearly 80 percent of all precision attack sorties of the war—ahead of the newer and more advanced F-15E Strike Eagle and Tornado IDS.
This impressive effort was to be the Aardvark’s last. Though it remained in service until 1996, when it was retired from the USAF, it did not participate in any further combat operations. Replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-111 left its mark on history and the USAF. A few ex-USAF F-111Gs were passed on to Australia, who continued to operate the Aardvark until finally it was retired for good in 2010. 563 were built, and 57 have been preserved in museums.
Delivered as 68-0020, this F-111E was one of the first E models produced and initially served with the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cannon AFB, New Mexico. Following a stint with the 474th TFW at Nellis AFB, Nevada, it joined the rest of the USAF's F-111Es with the 20th TFW at RAF Upper Heyford, UK.
Because 68-0020's tail number ended in "20," it was selected as the wing's "boss bird," and given a special tail flash that incorporated the colors of all of the 20th's squadrons. It also got the name "The Chief" and appropriate nose art. "The Chief" flew combat missions during Operation Desert Storm, and was retired in 1993. Its last flight was from Upper Heyford to the Hill AFB Museum.
Like all Cold War-era F-111s, "The Chief" wears Southeast Asia camouflage with black undersides for night operations, and retains its "boss bird" markings. The glossy finish of 68-0020 is interesting, because F-111s usually lacked that; it may be just for display.
Interesting that I saw three F-111s in three weeks; all of them were E models, and all of them from the 20th TFW!
While the F-16A had proven a success, its lack of long-range missile and true all-weather capability hampered it, especially in projected combat against the Warsaw Pact over Central Europe. General Dynamics began work on the upgraded F-16C/D version, with the first Block 25 F-16C flying in June 1984 and entering USAF service that September.
Externally, the only ways to tell apart the F-16C from the F-16A is the slightly enlarged base of the tail and a UHF radio antenna at the base of the tail. The intake is also slightly larger, though later marks of the F-16A also have this feature. Internally, however, the F-16C is a significantly different aircraft. The earlier APG-66 radar was replaced by the APG-68 multimode radar used by the F/A-18, which gave the F-16C the same capability to switch between ground-attack and dogfight mode and vastly improved all-weather capability. Cockpit layout was also changed in response to pilots’ requests, with a larger Heads-Up Display and movement of the radar display to eye level rather than between the pilot’s legs on the F-16A. The F-16C would also have the capability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM, though it would not be until 1992 that the missile entered service. Other small upgrades were made throughout the design, including the engine.
The Block 25 initial production was superseded by the Block 30 F-16C in 1987, which gave it better navigation systems, and the capability to carry the either the General Electric F110 or the Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. The Block 40/42 “Night Falcon” followed in 1988, equipped with LANTIRN night attack pods, followed by the Block 50/52, which was a dedicated Wild Weasel variant. In USAF service, the latter are semi-officially known as F-16CG and F-16CJ variants.
The F-16C had replaced the F-16A in nearly all overseas USAF units by the First Gulf War in 1991, and as a result, the aircraft was among the first deployed to the theater in August 1990. During the war, the F-16C was used mainly in ground attack and strike sorties, due to delays in the AIM-120, but it performed superbly in this role. USAF F-16s finally scored kills in the F-16C, beginning in 1992, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down over the southern no-fly zone; the victory was also the first with the AMRAAM. Four Serbian G-4 Super Galebs were shot down over Bosnia in 1994. F-16Cs had replaced the F-16A entirely in regular and Reserve USAF service by 1997, and further service was seen over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya by 2012. Subsequent upgrades to USAF F-16Cs with GPS allow them to carry advanced precision weapons such as JSOW and JDAM.
Whatever the variant, the F-16 is today the most prolific combat aircraft in existence, with 28 nations operating the type (17 of which operate F-16Cs). Over 4450 have been built, with more in production; the F-16C is also license-produced by Turkey and South Korea. It also forms the basis for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter for Japan, though the F-2 is significantly different, with a longer nose and larger wing. Though the USAF projects that the F-16C will be replaced by the F-35 beginning in 2020, it will likely remain in service for a very long time.
The bomb burst is the climax of many aerobatic teams' performances, and the Thunderbirds are no different. I got this shot just as the team went into the break, but before Thunderbird 5 spiraled out of the smoke--the solo was a little late getting into his climb. My dad took a similar picture of the Thunderbirds in a bomb burst 40 years ago in T-38s; this is mine in 2017.
014 in the north 40 minus it's engine. Arrived AMARC 18 Jan, 2001 as AA FG0455. Disposition: 02 Jan 2003 / To OO-ALC, Hill AFB, Ut. FMS to Italy as MM7243. Photographer: Unknown to me (Kodachrome Slide)
PictionID:44725739 - Catalog:14_013442 - Title:Apollo Details: Apollo Proposal; Map of U.S. for Apollo Date: 09/22/1961 - Filename:14_013439.TIF - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Markings:425th Fighter Squadron (425 FS) is part of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
SN:96-5035
Specifications (F-16D Block 30)
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 49 ft 5 in (14.8 m)
Wingspan: 32 ft 8 in (9.8 m)
Height: 16 ft (4.8 m)
Wing area: 300 ft² (27.87 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 64A204 root and tip
Empty weight: 18,900 lb (8,670 kg)
Loaded weight: 26,500 lb (12,000 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 42,300 lb (19,200 kg)
Powerplant: 1× F110-GE-100 afterburning turbofan
Dry thrust: 17,155 lbf (76.3 kN)
Thrust with afterburner: 28,600 lbf (128.9 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed:
At sea level: Mach 1.2 (915 mph, 1,470 km/h)
At altitude: Mach 2+ (1,500 mph, 2,414 km/h)
Combat radius: 340 mi (295 nm, 550 km) on a hi-lo-hi mission with six 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs
Ferry range: 2,280 NM (2,620 mi, 4,220 km) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 60,000+ ft (18,000+ m)
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
Wing loading: 88.3 lb/ft² (431 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 1.095
Armament
Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan gatling gun, 515 rounds
Hardpoints: 2× wing-tip Air-to-air missile launch rails, 6× under-wing & 3× under-fuselage pylon stations holding up to 20,450 lb (9,276 kg) of payload
Rockets:
4× LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19× /7× Hydra 70 mm rockets, respectively) or
4× LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19× CRV7 70 mm rockets) or
4× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× Zuni 127 mm rockets)
Missiles:
Air-to-air missiles:
2× AIM-7 Sparrow or
6× AIM-9 Sidewinder or
6× IRIS-T or
6× AIM-120 AMRAAM or
6× Python-4
Air-to-ground missiles:
6× AGM-45 Shrike or
6× AGM-65 Maverick or
4× AGM-88 HARM
Anti-ship missiles:
2× AGM-84 Harpoon or
4× AGM-119 Penguin
Bombs:
2× CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition
2× CBU-89 Gator mine
2× CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon
Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser capable
4× GBU-10 Paveway II
6× GBU-12 Paveway II
6× Paveway-series laser-guided bombs
4× JDAM
4× Mark 84 general-purpose bombs
8× Mark 83 GP bombs
12× Mark 82 GP bombs
B61 nuclear bomb
Others:
SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod or
AN/ALQ-131 & AN/ALQ-184 ECM pods or
LANTIRN, Lockheed Martin Sniper XR & LITENING targeting pods or
up to 3× 300/330/370 US gallon Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time.
Avionics
AN/APG-68 radar
A-10s, ES-3As and a C-141 on the ramp outside the southern maintenance shelter, April 1999. The F-16, bottom right, has already had the black undercoat for the spraylat applied.
General Dynamics F-16AM cn6H-84 msn80-3575
Force Aérienne Belge
Base Aérienne Salon de Provence (60 ans de la PAF)
26/05/2013
Beginning in the early 1960s, the USAF sought a replacement for the F-105 Thunderchief: while the F-105 was a good aircraft, it needed long runways that would be vulnerable in wartime and was not as long-ranged as the USAF might like. Simultaneously, the US Navy noticed that Soviet antiship missiles were becoming more advanced and longer-ranged, which would put their current fleet defense aircraft, the F-4 Phantom II, at a disadvantage. The Navy was especially interested in the AIM-54 Phoenix that provided very long-range capability. Though the two services wanted vastly different aircraft, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered that both seek a common aircraft to save money and development time, as had been done with the F-4; McNamara’s order came over the objections of both USAF and Navy researchers. Nonetheless, the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) project began work in 1961.
Immediately, TFX ran into trouble. The Navy wanted side-by-side seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2 and a fuselage length adequate for carrier operations; the USAF wanted tandem seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 and a long fuselage for better performance. About the only things the two services could agree on was the need for two engines and variable sweep wings, which would satisfy both services’ need for shorter distance takeoffs and landings. Only Boeing and General Dynamics’ proposals reached mockup stage, and McNamara personally ordered the General Dynamics design based on its better commonality of parts, despite the services preference for the Boeing version and the fact that General Dynamics had never built a naval fighter before. The new aircraft was designated F-111, in theory making it the last of the Century Series.
The problems with the F-111 now compounded. The F-111B carrier defense fighter was inadequate in every way, lacked the performance the Navy wanted, and it was too heavy for carrier operations. The F-111B was cancelled in 1967—though its AWG-9 fire control system and the Phoenix missile would live on in the F-14 Tomcat. The USAF’s F-111A had somewhat easier development, flying first in December 1964. Wing cracks and intake issues were addressed, and the F-111A entered USAF service in July 1967, then deployed to Vietnam under Project Combat Lancer in 1968.
Combat Lancer was a miserable failure: of six F-111As sent to Vietnam, three were lost in a month. The F-111 was grounded and in danger of cancellation until the USAF discovered the problem: the “box” that contained the wing sweep mechanism was flawed, as were the tailplanes, which could lock downwards without warning. The latter was traced to a glitch in the terrain-following computer, but the wing box problems were known by General Dynamics before delivery—and ignored to meet contract requirements. The troubles of the F-111 led to derisive nicknames from its crews, such as the “Supersonic Edsel,” “McNamara’s Folly,” and “Aardvark,” due to its long nose and propensity to stick it into the ground. The latter nickname stuck and became the informal name for the aircraft, though it would not be until 1995 that the USAF officially named the F-111 Aardvark.
Following personnel changes at General Dynamics and yet more rework to the design, F-111s returned to Vietnam in September 1972, with some trepidation. This time, however, the F-111 finally proved itself: operating without tanker or jamming support, F-111s would attack North Vietnamese targets alone, at night and often in bad weather, moving so quickly and so low that North Vietnamese air defense could not react in time. Though clearly the Aardvark was no fighter, as a strike aircraft it had few peers. Its terrain-following radar was the best in the world, and it combined high speed penetration with a good bombload.
The USAF began subsequent improvement of the design. The F-111D had an even more advanced fire control system, the first USAF aircraft to use a microprocessor computer, and better Triple Plow II intakes, which spared the Aardvark the catastrophic engine failure that plagued the other user of the TF30 engine, the F-14 Tomcat. The F-111D’s computer was plagued with trouble, so the USAF then fielded the F-111E/F variants, which had simpler fire control but better avionics; the F-111F was optimized for precision attack, equipped with the radar of the FB-111 and the AVQ-26 Pave Tack laser designator.
While the early F-111As were converted to EF-111A Raven ECM aircraft (described below) and the F-111D ended up being simply retired rather than fixed, the “simple” F-111E/Fs proved to be superb in USAF service. Australia was the only export customer for the Aardvark, flying F-111Cs from 1973; the United Kingdom cancelled its order of F-111Ks in 1968.
In 1986, F-111s spearheaded Operation Eldorado Canyon, which crippled the regime of Moammar Qaddafi in Libya, while during the First Gulf War of 1991, Aardvarks completely destroyed oil facilities at Kirkuk, used laser-guided bombs to destroy over 1500 Iraqi tanks, and completed nearly 80 percent of all precision attack sorties of the war—ahead of the newer and more advanced F-15E Strike Eagle and Tornado IDS.
This impressive effort was to be the Aardvark’s last. Though it remained in service until 1996, when it was retired from the USAF, it did not participate in any further combat operations. Replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-111 left its mark on history and the USAF. A few ex-USAF F-111Gs were passed on to Australia, who continued to operate the Aardvark until finally it was retired for good in 2010. 563 were built, and 57 have been preserved in museums.
This F-111A, 67-0067, was assigned to the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Nellis AFB, Nevada. During the Vietnam War, it was assigned as an attrition replacement for an earlier F-111 lost during Operation Linebacker, and it flew several combat missions over North Vietnam before American involvement ended in 1973. It returned to Nellis and was later assigned to the 366th TFW at Mountain Home AFB before it was retired around 1990, and donated to the National Museum of the USAF. It is painted in USAF Southeast Asia camouflage with black undersides for night operations, and is loaded with 12 500-pound Mk 82 Snakeye bombs.
My stepfather Bary Poletto also built a model of 67-0067 for the Malmstrom AFB Museum: www.flickr.com/photos/31469080@N07/16490289086/in/photoli...
While the F-16A had proven a success, its lack of long-range missile and true all-weather capability hampered it, especially in projected combat against the Warsaw Pact over Central Europe. General Dynamics began work on the upgraded F-16C/D version, with the first Block 25 F-16C flying in June 1984 and entering USAF service that September.
Externally, the only ways to tell apart the F-16C from the F-16A is the slightly enlarged base of the tail and a UHF radio antenna at the base of the tail. The intake is also slightly larger, though later marks of the F-16A also have this feature. Internally, however, the F-16C is a significantly different aircraft. The earlier APG-66 radar was replaced by the APG-68 multimode radar used by the F/A-18, which gave the F-16C the same capability to switch between ground-attack and dogfight mode and vastly improved all-weather capability. Cockpit layout was also changed in response to pilots’ requests, with a larger Heads-Up Display and movement of the radar display to eye level rather than between the pilot’s legs on the F-16A. The F-16C would also have the capability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM, though it would not be until 1992 that the missile entered service. Other small upgrades were made throughout the design, including the engine.
The Block 25 initial production was superseded by the Block 30 F-16C in 1987, which gave it better navigation systems, and the capability to carry the either the General Electric F110 or the Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. The Block 40/42 “Night Falcon” followed in 1988, equipped with LANTIRN night attack pods, followed by the Block 50/52, which was a dedicated Wild Weasel variant. In USAF service, the latter are semi-officially known as F-16CG and F-16CJ variants.
The F-16C had replaced the F-16A in nearly all overseas USAF units by the First Gulf War in 1991, and as a result, the aircraft was among the first deployed to the theater in August 1990. During the war, the F-16C was used mainly in ground attack and strike sorties, due to delays in the AIM-120, but it performed superbly in this role. USAF F-16s finally scored kills in the F-16C, beginning in 1992, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down over the southern no-fly zone; the victory was also the first with the AMRAAM. Four Serbian G-4 Super Galebs were shot down over Bosnia in 1994. F-16Cs had replaced the F-16A entirely in regular and Reserve USAF service by 1997, and further service was seen over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya by 2012. Subsequent upgrades to USAF F-16Cs with GPS allow them to carry advanced precision weapons such as JSOW and JDAM.
Whatever the variant, the F-16 is today the most prolific combat aircraft in existence, with 28 nations operating the type (17 of which operate F-16Cs). Over 4450 have been built, with more in production; the F-16C is also license-produced by Turkey and South Korea. It also forms the basis for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter for Japan, though the F-2 is significantly different, with a longer nose and larger wing. Though the USAF projects that the F-16C will be replaced by the F-35 beginning in 2020, it will likely remain in service for a very long time.
Here Thunderbird 6 shows off the Alpha of the F-16. "High Alpha" refers to the ability of an aircraft to maintain a nose up altitude for a lengthy amount of time--which could be valuable in a dogfight, though most fighter pilots would not want to slow down in a pitched fight. In this maneuver, the F-16 is "hanging on the engine," staying aloft on sheer thrust and the lift provided by the F-16's design. The F-16 doesn't have the Alpha of the F-18 or the Su-27, but it can more than hold its own. This picture was taken at the Wings Over the Falls airshow in Great Falls, MT in July 2017.
PictionID:44725763 - Catalog:14_013444 - Title:Atlas Details: Drawing; Space Cabin Simulator Date: 10/02/1961 - Filename:14_013441.TIF - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Willard Martin (b. 1917) held various jobs before he was hired by Convair San Diego as a metal worker. For the next 30 years, Martin worked at Convair, eventually serving much of his career as the Operations General Supervisor, a task that involved supervising experiment department operations, engineering test lap support, model shop operations, mockup and wind tunnel support. In addition, he managed all instrumentation fabrication, installation and field support operations for the Cruise Missile Program and others. In 1976, he was elected by members of the National Management Association, General Dynamics Convair Chapter, as Director of Public Relations from 1976 to 1977.
Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
Spotting at @rafwaddington ( CW 🐍⚔️)
So great to see the Turkish Air force first time with the F-16 truly a rare breed hope they come back for more
Aircraft information ℹ️
Air force
( @havaharbiyeli )
Aircraft type ️
( @generaldynamics F-16CG )
Aircraft reg ℹ
( 93-0007 )
Camara
( @canonuk 2000D )
Lens
( 150-600mm )
Date 📆
( 11th March 2025 )
Beginning in the early 1960s, the USAF sought a replacement for the F-105 Thunderchief: while the F-105 was a good aircraft, it needed long runways that would be vulnerable in wartime and was not as long-ranged as the USAF might like. Simultaneously, the US Navy noticed that Soviet antiship missiles were becoming more advanced and longer-ranged, which would put their current fleet defense aircraft, the F-4 Phantom II, at a disadvantage. The Navy was especially interested in the AIM-54 Phoenix that provided very long-range capability. Though the two services wanted vastly different aircraft, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered that both seek a common aircraft to save money and development time, as had been done with the F-4; McNamara’s order came over the objections of both USAF and Navy researchers. Nonetheless, the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) project began work in 1961.
Immediately, TFX ran into trouble. The Navy wanted side-by-side seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2 and a fuselage length adequate for carrier operations; the USAF wanted tandem seating with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 and a long fuselage for better performance. About the only things the two services could agree on was the need for two engines and variable sweep wings, which would satisfy both services’ need for shorter distance takeoffs and landings. Only Boeing and General Dynamics’ proposals reached mockup stage, and McNamara personally ordered the General Dynamics design based on its better commonality of parts, despite the services preferring the Boeing version and the fact that General Dynamics had never built a naval fighter before. The new aircraft was designated F-111, in theory making it the last of the Century Series.
The problems with the F-111 now compounded. The F-111B carrier defense fighter was inadequate in every way, lacking the performance the Navy wanted, and it was too heavy for carrier operations. The F-111B was cancelled in 1967—though its AWG-9 fire control system and the Phoenix missile would live on in the F-14 Tomcat. The USAF’s F-111A had somewhat easier development, flying first in December 1964. Wing cracks and intake issues were addressed, and the F-111A entered USAF service in July 1967, then deployed to Vietnam under Project Combat Lancer in 1968.
Combat Lancer was a miserable failure: of six F-111As sent to Vietnam, three were lost in a month. The troubles of the F-111 led to derisive nicknames from its crews, such as the “Supersonic Edsel,” “McNamara’s Folly,” and “Aardvark,” due to its long nose and propensity to stick it into the ground. The latter nickname stuck and became the informal name for the aircraft, though it would not be until 1995 that the USAF officially named the F-111 Aardvark.
Following yet more rework to the design, F-111s returned to Vietnam in September 1972. This time, the F-111 finally proved itself: operating without tanker or jamming support, F-111s would attack North Vietnamese targets alone, at night and often in bad weather, moving so quickly and so low that North Vietnamese air defense could not react in time. Though clearly the Aardvark was no fighter, as a strike aircraft it had few peers. Its terrain-following radar was the best in the world, and it combined high speed penetration with a good bombload.
The USAF began subsequent improvement of the design. The F-111D had an even more advanced fire control system, the first USAF aircraft to use a microprocessor computer, and better Triple Plow II intakes, which spared the Aardvark the catastrophic engine failure that plagued the other user of the TF30 engine, the F-14 Tomcat. The F-111D’s computer was plagued with trouble, so the USAF then fielded the F-111E/F variants, which had simpler fire control but better avionics; the F-111F was optimized for precision attack, equipped with the radar of the FB-111 and the AVQ-26 Pave Tack laser designator.
While the early F-111As were converted to EF-111A Raven ECM aircraft and the F-111D ended up being simply retired rather than fixed, the “simple” F-111E/Fs proved to be superb in USAF service. Australia was the only export customer for the Aardvark, flying F-111Cs from 1973; the United Kingdom cancelled its order of F-111Ks in 1968.
In 1986, F-111s spearheaded Operation Eldorado Canyon, which crippled the regime of Moammar Qaddafi in Libya, while during the First Gulf War of 1991, Aardvarks completely destroyed oil facilities at Kirkuk, used laser-guided bombs to destroy over 1500 Iraqi tanks, and completed nearly 80 percent of all precision attack sorties of the war—ahead of the newer and more advanced F-15E Strike Eagle and Tornado IDS.
This impressive effort was to be the Aardvark’s last. Though it remained in service until 1996, when it was retired from the USAF, it did not participate in any further combat operations. Replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-111 left its mark on history and the USAF. A few ex-USAF F-111Gs were passed on to Australia, who continued to operate the Aardvark until finally retiring it for good in 2010. 563 were built, and 57 have been preserved in museums.
These two F-111s made a pass over the 1978 Ramstein airshow, and Dad was able to get a quick shot as they went overhead. I assume they are F-111Fs of the 48th TFW at RAF Lakenheath, as there was one of that wing's Aardvarks at Ramstein that year, but they could also be F-111Es from the 20th TFW at Upper Heyford.