The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine 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. Over 4,600 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976.[4] Although no longer being purchased by the U.S. Air Force, improved versions are being built for export customers.[5] In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation,[6] which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta.[
The F-16 is a single-engine, highly maneuverable, supersonic, multi-role tactical fighter aircraft. It is much smaller and lighter than its predecessors, but uses advanced aerodynamics and avionics, including the first use of a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire (RSS/FBW) flight control system, to achieve enhanced maneuver performance. Highly agile, the F-16 was the first fighter aircraft purpose-built to pull 9-g maneuvers and can reach a maximum speed of over Mach 2. Innovations include a frameless bubble canopy for better visibility, a side-mounted control stick, and a reclined seat to reduce g-force effects on the pilot. It is armed with an internal M61 Vulcan cannon in the left wing root and has multiple locations for mounting various missiles, bombs and pods. It has a thrust-to-weight ratio greater than one, providing power to climb and vertical acceleration
Role | Multirole fighter, air superiority fighter |
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National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | General Dynamics (1974-1993) Lockheed Martin (1993-present) |
First flight | 20 January 1974; 47 years ago (unplanned) 2 February 1974; 47 years ago (official) |
Introduction | 17 August 1978; 42 years ago |
Status | In service |
Primary users | United States Air Force 25 other users (see operators page) |
Produced | 1973–2017, 2019–present |
Number built | 4,604 (June 2018) |
Variants | General Dynamics F-16 VISTA |
Developed into | Vought Model 1600 General Dynamics F-16XL Mitsubishi F-2 |
Experiences in the Vietnam War revealed the need for air superiority fighters and better air-to-air training for fighter pilots.[12] Based on his experiences in the Korean War and as a fighter tactics instructor in the early 1960s, Colonel John Boyd with mathematician Thomas Christie developed the energy–maneuverability theory to model a fighter aircraft’s performance in combat. Boyd’s work called for a small, lightweight aircraft that could maneuver with the minimum possible energy loss and which also incorporated an increased thrust-to-weight ratio.[13][14] In the late 1960s, Boyd gathered a group of like-minded innovators who became known as the Fighter Mafia, and in 1969, they secured Department of Defense funding for General Dynamics and Northrop to study design concepts based on the theory
General characteristics
Performance
Armament