Design of the General Dynamics F-16 was initiated during 1971 to meet a US Air Force requirement for a new highly manoeuvrable lightweight fighter (LWF). Five US companies submitted proposals OIl 28 February 1972 and less than two months later General Dynamics and Northrop were each contracted to build two prototypes. Required for competitive evaluation, the rival designs were allocated the respective designations YF-16 and YF-17, and the first YF-16 flew on 2 February 1974. On 13 January 1975 it was announced that the YF-16 had won and full-scale engineering deveLopment authorised under the designation F-leA, together with the F-16B two-seat fighter/trainer. On 7 June 1975 came confirmation that four NATO allies. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, had also selected the F-16 to meet the requirements of their air forces. Thus was initiated a massive production programme, with some 67 major and almost 4000 other sub-contractors supplying avionics, components and equipment to the General Dynamics plant at Fort Worth, Texas. In Europe there were 33 majorand nearly 400 additional sub-contractors keeping the production lines supplied in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The first production F-16A was flown on 7 August 1978 and was handed over formally to the US Air Force 10 days later. The first European F-16s were delivered to the air forces of Belgium on 26 January 1979. the Netherlands on 6 June 1979, Norway on 25 January 1980 and Denmark on 28 January 1980. The first F-16 for Israel, a two-seat F-16B, was handed over officially at Fort Worth, Texas, on 31 January1980, and initial deliveries to Egypt began early in 1982.

The current order book for the F-16, officially named Fighting Falcon in 1980, shows that the USAF plans to acquireatotal of 2.261. with the US NaW operating 26 Falcons, comprising 22 F-iON, and four TF-1SN two-seaters. all converted from F-lOCID models. Other users include Bahrain (12), Belgium (160), Denmark (70), Egypt (128), Greece (40), Indonesia (12), Israel (210), South Korea (164), Netherlands (213), Norway (74), Pakistan (111), Portugal (20), Singapore (8), Thailand (18), Turkey (160) and Venezuela (24). Iranian plans to buy 160 F-l6swere cancelled in January 1979.

ByAugust 199O more than 2,600 F-165 had been delivered out of 3,530 ordered and were in service with 17 customers in 16 countries, with Portugal scheduled to join the Fighting Falcon club in 1993. Some of the latest technology can be seen in the structure and avionics systems of the F-16. For example, the wings are blended into the fuselage, which not only helps to save weight, but also increases the overall lift at high angles of attack and reduces drag in the transonic speed range. Movable leadingand trailing-edge flaps, controlled automatically by the aircraft's speed and attitude, enable the wing toassume an optimum configuration for lift under all conditions of flight. The highly-swept strakes that lead forward alongside the nose provide further lift: they also prevent wing-root stall, reduce buffeting and improve directional stability and roll control. All flying controls are operated by a 'fly-by-wire' electrical system, replacing mechanical linkages throughout the airframe, and enabling the aircraft to respond faster and more accurately to pilot commands. Advanced avionics include communications with a secure voice system, inertial and TACAN navigatiort, pulse-Doppler ranging and angle track radar, radar warning system, flight control computer, and central air data and fire control computers. Development continues by the company, as well as the US Air Force under programmes such as the Multi-national Staged Improvement Program (MSIP).Thiswas intended to ensure that throughout production the necessary steps were taken to make possible the easy incorporation of systems then under development. As an example, aircraft delivered from November 1981 onwards had structural and wiring provisions to allow precision strike, night attack and beyond-visualrange interception missions when the equipment became available. Brief details of some of these developments are given below.

Production F-16A and B models were powered by 10800-kg (23,770-ib) thrust Pratt & Whitney F100 turbofans, but following a US government directive to double-source engine supplies, F-l6Cs and Ds built after July1986 can also be fitted with General Electric FliOturbofan powerplants giving 13150-kg (28,984-Ib) thrust.

The F- 16 Fighting Falcon was by far the greatest fighter success story of the I 970s. Yet its only reason for existence is the enormous expense of the F- 15 programme. In I 972 the US Air Force decided that there might be value in discovering the potential (if any) for an LWF (lightweight fighter) that would be smaller and cheaper than the F- I 5 Eagle. This was a purely academic exercise; there was not the slightest intention of buying such as LWF for service.

Following an initial design competition, two companies were asked to produce two prototypes each. The result was the Northrop YF- 17 with twin vertical tais and two General Electric YJ 101 turbojets and the General Dynamics Model 40 K which cleverly used one Fl 00 engine as fitted to the F-IS. The GD4O flew for the first time on 2 February I 974. Even at that time there was no thought of producing the aircraft in quantity, but foreign interest helped the Americans to realise that a relatively low cost LWF could bring substantial overseas orders without hurting the F-I 5. And so, following General Dynamics' development of the 40 into a slightly larger aircraft with far more comprehensive avionics, full-scale development was ordered on 13 January 975. Within five months, four European countries - Belgium, Denmark, Holland and Norway.- had entered into a Joint development contract, sharing production with General Dynamics,

The F- 16 is conventional in configuration, with cropped delta wing and a rear tailplane, but its design is extremely advanced. Flying surfaces are all electronically (fly-by-wire) controlled, including leading-edge flaps and trailing-edge flaperons (combined flaps and ailerons). This combination of leading-and-trailing-edge flaps allows the wing camber to be changed at will, if necessary under automatic control.

In sharp contrast to fighter design from World War I onward, the F- 16 has virtually no inherent stability, and it is thus kept under computer control. The pilot is seated under a completely transparent canopy in an almost fully reclining posrtlon. This is not in order to accommodate him within the slim fuselage lines, but to resist violent acceleration loads: the F- 16 can pull a sustained 9g in turns, more than any other Western aircraft, The control column is not placed centrally, but is a short handgrip on the right-hand side, with a special arm-rest: the stick senses the pilot's input forces and transmits to thecontrol system signals that cause the exact rate of manoeuvre demanded.

Most F- 16s so far have been powered,by the same advanced Pratt & Whitney F 100 turbofan as the much bigger twin-engined F-I5 Eagle. The engine is fed by a chin inlet of simple fixed type, because no attempt was made

to achieve very high Mach numbers. With thrust greater than clean gross weight Mach 2 can be attained without such complication.

Armament is impressive for a lightweight fighter and comprises a single 20mm General Electric M6 IA-I cannon, a central under-fuselage pylon capable of carrying almost 22001b and three pylons under each wing able to support a total of I 7,3991b, together with another 4251b on the wing tips. These limit loads are not used, and maximum external load is I 2,OOOlb of assorted bombs rockets, cluster disp6nsers, Maverick, Durandal and other attack missiles, with Sidewinders for defence. This load has to be slightly reduced when the aircraft is to carry out manoeuvres resulting in forces of up to 9g.

In addition to the countries who are participating in the F-I 6's manufacture (European customer aircraft are assembled in Belgium and the Netherlands), it has also been ordered by Egypt, Israel, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey and Venezuela.

Continuing a procedure that is standard for most modern fighters, a proportion of all production aircraft are ordered as two-seat trainers.

The initial production F-I 6A and two-seat F-I 6B were succeeded in 1983 by the F-I 6C and two-seat F-I 6D, with new radar, totally upgraded avionics, a new cockpit and many extra items including two Lantirn pods filled with infra-red, laser and other types of sensor which assist in night attack.

General Dynamics also developed a totally new F-I 6XL with a giant 'cranked arrow' wing and no tailplane. Immediate further development of this into a two-seat multi-role combat aircraft was lost to the two-seat McDonnell Douglas F-IS, but its performance is so incredible that there is a good chance that the USAF will buy a production version, probably the F-I 6F, in due course. A proposed simplified variant powered by the J79 turbojet of I 8,OOOlb thrust did not find buyers, but General Electric's far bigger and newer F 110 engine in the 30,OOOlb thrust class has already been adopted for future production, and has also been selected by Turkey and for the third batch for Israel.

In its own way the Fighting Falcon is already a legend. It is certainly respected by pilots of older MiGs who may have to dogfight it. But one thing is certain. The amount of research and development that is continuing with this relatively young LWF means that we shall continue to see new and even more advanced versions of the F- 16 in the years to come.

F-16C

Country of origin: USA.

Manufacturer: General Dynamics Corporation.

Type: Single-seat fighter-bomber.

Year: 1978.

Engine: 10,814kg (23.8401b) thrust Pratt & Whitney F 100-200 augmented turbofan.

Wingspan: 9.45m (31 ft) over empty missile launchers.

Length: I 4.52m (47ft 7in).

Height: 5.09m (I 6ft 8in).

Weight: 17,010kg (37,5001b).

Maximum speed: 21 73kn'vh (1350mph).

Ceiling: Over I 5,240m (SOOQOft).

Range: Over 3890km (241 5 miles).

Armament: One M6 IA-I 20mm cannon, one centreline pylon and eight wing pylons able to carry up to 5420kg (II .9501b) at loads up to 9g. This figure rises to 5443kg (I 2,OOOlb) at lower g forces.

IN April 1974, the US lightweight fighter programme received a change of emphasis. The increased Cost of the F-IS led to the adoption of a 'high-low mix' policy by the USAF: the F-15 being the 'high' end, and a new air combat fighter (ACF) being the 'low' end, to be procured in larger numbers than the F-is. Spurred on by foreign Interest in the USAF's selection, from the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, it was announced that the General Dynamics YF-16 had been selected for full-scale engineering development.

The F-16 represents a fresh approach to fighter design, having a flared wing-body shape and the Fl5's FIQO engine, with a simple fixed intake below the fuselage. The pilot lies back in a reclining seat, and flies the aircraft with a side-stick controller in place of the conventional control column. It is a simple day air-combat fighter, armed with a 20mm (0.79-in) M61 cannon and wingtip AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs.

The prospect of a European order meant the original air-superiority role had to be expanded to give equal emphasis on the air-to-surface mission, to include radar and limited all-weather navigation capabilities. Six single-seat F-16A and two twinseat F-I 6B trainers were ordered as pre-production aircraft; the first development F-I 6A flew on December 8, 1976, and the first F-16B on August 8, 1977. The initial orders were for 116 F-16s for Belgium, 58 for Denmark, 72 for Norway and 102 for the Netherlands. Of the 348 ordered, 58 were to be two-seaters.

During weapons development trials the second prototype YF-16 had demonstrated its ability to carry and fire bath the AIM-7 Sparrow and Sky Flash AAMs. Company-funded trials have produced an F-I 6B Wild Weasel variant, which although not fulfilling any USAF requirement, has sparked interest with other customers of the F- 16.

In October 1976 Iran ordered 160 F-16s, but this was later cancelled, following the fall of the Shah in January 1979. In January 1977 the USAF increased its buy by 738 aircraft, and as part of the three-way arms deal of August 1977, Israel is to receive 75 F-16s.

The first production F-I 6A flew on August 7, 1978, and was handed over to the USAF ten days later. It entered operational service with the USAF at Hill AFB in January 1979. The first European aircraft flew from the Belgian line in December 1978, and entered Belgian air force service in January 1979. The first Dutch aircraft, an F-16B, flew in May 1979, and was handed over to the Royal Netherlands Air Force on June 6, 1979. The first Norwegian F- 16, also a two-seater, was first flown on December 12, 1979 and handed over on January 15, 1980. Israel received its first aircraft on January 31, 1980.

General Dynamics is also proposing a simplified version of the F- 16 as a follow-on fighter for the F5E supplied under Mutual Aid Programs. This version would be powered by a J79 turbojet of 8165kg (180001b) thrust, in place of the FIOO turbofan. Structural changes would be limited to the rear fuselage and air intake, which would be resized to be compatible with the smaller J79.