F 16 characteristics of all modifications. F16 aircraft, fighter: photo, specifications, speed, analog

The F-16 is a 4th generation American supersonic jet fighter and the first to enter US service. For its lightness and maneuverability, it received its name "Fighting Falcon" ("attacking falcon"), in honor of the main symbol of the US Air Force Academy, on the coat of arms of which this bird is depicted.

The history of the creation of the American F-16 aircraft

At the end of the war with Vietnam, the US Air Force decided to create an improved high-speed fighter, due to the lack of effectiveness of the existing ones.

Activities to develop a new military aircraft was carried out by the Americans in parallel with similar research by Soviet engineers, who already in 1967 presented the MiG-25, which surpassed the US achievements in this field of aircraft construction with its tactical and technical properties.

In contrast to the MiG-25, General Dynamics designed the heavyweight and expensive F-15 fighter, which could not improve the performance of the Soviet aircraft.

1969- US Air Force officers and defense analysts began work on the Light Weight Fighter program, which was based on the theory of "energy maneuverability" put forward by Major John Boyd and mathematician Thomas Christie and proving that maneuverability directly depends on the weight of the aircraft.

May 1971.- a team of like-minded people, under the leadership of Boyd, received funds for research and the formation of basic requirements for a future combat aircraft.

January 6, 1972. - studies completed, the US Air Force announces a competition among aircraft manufacturers for the design of a fighter with the following request: weight within 9.1 tons, good turning coefficient, optimization for close combat at a speed of 0.6-1.6 Mach and an altitude of 9 150-12 200 meters.

February 1972- Preliminary designs of six fighter prototypes were received from five applicant companies: Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Northrop and Vought.

March 1972- Winning companies were selected: Northrop and General Dynamics.

April 14, 1972. - Contracts for design developments were concluded with the winning aircraft manufacturers and financing was provided.

• a twin-engine device with a two-keel plumage, with the index "YF-17" from Northrop;
• single-engine ─ from General Dynamics, with the index "YF-16".

Both companies were issued orders for the construction of aircraft.

1974. - flight tests are being carried out, which showed that the YF-16 has better results, in comparison with the YF-17, in terms of such parameters as acceleration and maneuverability, as well as a lower production cost. In the same year, the name of the program was changed to "Air Combat Fighter".

January 13, 1975. - John L. McLucas, Secretary of the United States Air Force, announced that in competitive program"Air Combat Fighter" won the YF-16 fighter. From that moment on, he received the index F-16A.

April 9, 1975- GD was given a small order for 15 aircraft for the US Air Force, and the loser YF-17 entered service with the Navy.

Since 1978 open large-scale production and operation of the new "air fighter".

Until 1980, The US Air Force buys 650 aircraft, after which orders for the fighter came from Europe and the Middle East.

1993. - General Dynamics sold its assets to the large aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Corporation, which later became Lockheed Martin.

The attacking falcon entered service with aviation, in more than two dozen countries of the world. Today, the largest number F-16 fighters are operated in the USA, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, for military aviation these countries, he became the main combat fighter aircraft.

Design

The basic model of the F-16A fighter in the United States was developed by Robert Widmer, who created a completely innovative design.

Its features:

• combination of light weight and high load capacity;
• integral aerodynamic layout, including the design of the fuselage and wing with a forward influx, provides additional rate of climb at high angles of attack, reduces the weight of the machine and increases the interior space;
• the center of gravity of the aircraft, shifted forward, reduced the balancing resistance;
• highly sensitive radar system;
• one-piece, "teardrop" canopy for a full viewing angle;
• ergonomic seat reduced the load on the pilot; for this, the seat was tilted back by 30◦;
• control devices are located as conveniently as possible so that they are "at hand" of the pilot.

The new fighter has become not only more functional than the F-15, but also cheaper by half.

Tests have shown that with a declared flight altitude of 12,200 meters, it is capable of climbing 15,000 meters in 90 seconds and reaching supersonic speed in 40 seconds.

Flight performance

On the basis of the F-16A fighter, three more major modifications were produced (shown in the table), which retained most of the technical characteristics of the F-16 aircraft and were put into large-scale production. American engineers managed to achieve that the speed of the F-16 aircraft reached Mach 2 (one Mach equal to speed sound).

F-16 fighters of various modifications have practically no external differences in design, with the exception of the cockpit, designed for one or two pilots:

Modifications are periodically improved, as a result of which their new configurations appear. The most recent is the series or block 70 made for India. The company is positioning this version as the F-16 combat aircraft of tomorrow, representing the 5th generation of fighters. F-16 block 70 is equipped with the latest technologies in the field of military aircraft construction, previously unavailable.

In addition to the main modifications, the designers also designed separate, “narrow-tasking” Falcon models, produced individually for experimental purposes or on special orders. These, for example, include the F-16XL ─ "tailless", which is distinguished by a delta wing and a kink along the leading edge.

For Israel, a two-seat F-16I from the 52 series was created, called "Sufa" (Thunderstorm). Half of the on-board equipment and weapons of the Thunderstorm are produced in Israel: anti-missile system, a system for conducting training exercises, an on-board computer, as well as missiles and a homing system.

Among the latest configurations is the F-16V, called the "Viper" (Viper). The prototype made its first flight in 2015. The Viper is equipped with an APG-83 scalable radar antenna (SABR), which allows it to effectively detect external threats and identify targets at long distances, as well as the SNIPER system, which provides more accurate day and night aiming . It is assumed that a new version will be exported, while Lockheed Martin will be able to improve any F-16C to the standard 16V and F-16S.

The F-16 has evolved over several decades and has gone through the stages from a light day fighter to a multi-role fighter-bomber capable of conducting combat flights at night, launching air-to-air missiles, above the range of visibility.

At the same time, the disadvantage of the fighter remains its vulnerability to modern means detection, since stealth technologies are not used on it.

Participation in hostilities

Crash statistics

The overall crash statistics of the Fighting Falcon are impressive. Here are a few facts compiled from the US Aviation Safety Network website:

• since the start of operation, as of March 2018, 671 Fighting Falcon crashes have been recorded, killing 208 pilots and 98 people on the ground at the time of the fall;
• most often, disasters occurred with fighters belonging to the United States, there were a total of 286 of them;
• the first air crash occurred on August 9, 1979, with an F-16B modification aircraft in the United States, near the city of Ogden, Utah, as a result of pilot error;
• the largest, in terms of the number of casualties, and the most unpredictable, in terms of the development of events, the crash of the F-16 occurred on March 23, 1994 at the US military airbase in North Carolina and became known as the "Green Ramp disastern". The F-16 was on a training flight and collided in the sky with a C-130E cargo plane, after which the fighter began to fall apart.

The pilots ejected, and the collapsing car fell on the airfield between two aircraft standing there. At the time of the fall, a fragment of the fighter flew off and hit the fuel tank of a C-141 standing in the distance.

Pierced right through him fireball flew further between the two buildings and flew into the area where the C-141, 500 troops, were waiting to land. 23 people died immediately, 80 were injured, one of them died after 9 months. The F-16 and C-130E pilots survived.

According to US Air Force statistics, 75% of Falcon crashes occur in controlled flight, when a technically sound aircraft is flown normally, but collides with the ground, water surface or another aircraft, as a result of pilot error.

To prevent such stalemate situations, Lockheed Martin developed the Auto GCAS automatic ground collision avoidance system, tested back in 1998, but put into operation only six years later ─ in 2014.

The system is configured in such a way that up to a certain point it only scans the flight and warns of dangerous moments, and in critical situations, without special activation by the pilot, it takes full control over itself, blocking its capabilities.

According to data posted on the company's website, since the beginning of the use of Auto GCAS, at least four pilots and fighters piloted by them have been saved with its help.

There is an opinion that the introduction of this system was facilitated by a decrease in the quality of training in the combat training of pilots.

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"Fighting Falcon" in movies and games

The popularity of the fighter jet in America is reflected in several movies and flight simulation games made, among them:

• adventure film "Pearl of the Nile", 1985;
• action movie "Iron Eagle", 1986, followed by "Iron Eagle ─ 2" and "Iron Eagle 3: Aces";
• drama 1992 ─ "Fast and the Furious", filmed on real events and telling about the events taking place in connection with the crash of the F-16 and the death of the pilot;
• "The Price of Fear", 2002;
• game Strike Commander, F-16 Combat Pilot, Falcon 4.0 and others.

"F-16 Fighting Falcon" - multirole fighter. It forms the basis of the US Air Force and many of the 19 countries that have purchased it. The most common of the foreign jet fighters of the fourth generation.

The development of pre-production aircraft began in 1974. From mid-1975 to 1978, the first 15 aircraft were produced. From the end of 1976 to the middle of 1978, all flight tests were carried out, in 1978, deliveries of F-16 aircraft to the US Air Force began.

The F-16 is a mid-wing monoplane with an engine in the rear fuselage. The smooth articulation of the wing and fuselage allows the fuselage to create additional lift at high angles of attack. The structure is 78.3% aluminum alloy, 4.2% titanium alloy, 4.2% carbon fiber and 3.7% steel.

All-metal semi-monocoque fuselage. The cab is equipped with a regenerative air conditioning and pressurization system. The McDonnell-Douglas ACESII ejection seat ensures the escape of the aircraft in the parking lot and in flight at a speed of 1100 km/h at altitudes up to 15000 meters.

In the second half of the 1980s, F-16C / D aircraft were equipped with means of reducing visibility (the cockpit canopy was metallized on the inside, radar-absorbing materials were used in the air intake area).

There are several modifications of the fighter:

The F-16A is a single-seat multi-role fighter, mainly for operations during daylight hours. The first serial version F-16. Production ended in March 1985. Produced only for foreign customers.

F-16В - two-seat combat training version of the F-16А. Production for the USAF ceased in 1985.

F-16C is a single-seat advanced multirole fighter. Supplied to the US Air Force since July 1984.

F -16D - two-seat combat training version of the F -16C. Supplied to the US Air Force since September 1984.

F-16ADF - air defense fighter for the US Air National Guard. In this version, 279 previously built F-16A and F-16B were modified in 1989-1992.

RF-16C (F-16R) - reconnaissance variant.

The F-16 fighter has the following Main characteristics:

Wingspan - 9.45 m

Aircraft length - 15.03 m

Aircraft height - 5.09 m

Wing area - 27.87 square meters

Weight of the empty aircraft in kilograms:

1. F-16A-7365
2. F -16V - 7655
3. F-16C-8275
4. F-16D‑8855

Mass of fuel in kilograms:

1. F-16A/C-3105

2. F-16B/D-2565

Takeoff weight (calculated with a full supply of fuel) in kilograms:
F-16A , F-16C /D - 11839.

Takeoff weight (maximum with external load) in kilograms:
F-16A, F-16C - 19190.

Landing speed - 226 km / h.
Practical ceiling - 15240 m.
Practical range - 1315 km, ferry range - 3890 km.

In February 1980, General Dynamics proposed the use of a version of the Fighting Falcon with a radically modified wing shape, originally proposed for use on Concorde-type supersonic airliners. The project was named SCAMP (Supersonic Cruise and Maneuvering Program), and then was renamed F-16XL. Deltoid delta wing with double sweep along the leading edge had with total area at 58.8 square meters(more than double the area of ​​a standard F-16 wing).

The goals of the research were innovative shapes and curvature of the wing profile to provide efficient supersonic cruising speed while maintaining maneuverability up to sonic fighters. The design was to provide low drag at high subsonic or supersonic speeds without sacrificing maneuverability at low speeds.

The program was originally funded by the manufacturer and involved two experienced F-16As. In the late 1980s, the US Air Force and General Dynamics agreed on a joint test program, and the Air Force provided the third and fifth prototype F-16s (tail number A-3, serial number 75-0747 and A-5, serial number 75-0749) for conversions to F-16XL prototypes.

The fuselage was lengthened by 142 cm to 16.5 meters with two new inserts at the junctions between the three main fuselage nodes: one 66 cm insert was placed at the rear split point of the wing (rear split point), and 76 cm at the front. However, the rear 66 cm insert was not a continuous segment from base to top. Below the wing, a 26 inch segment was inserted just aft of the main landing gear, above the wing the segment was still 26 inches long, but inserted 26 inches farther aft than the segment below the wing. Below the wing this insert, a 26 inch segment was inserted directly aft of the main landing gear, the above wing segment was still 26 inches long but inserted 26 inches farther aft than the under wing segment. As a result, this insert was similar to the reverse "Z". Fuselage extensions made it possible to make the tail section beveled to 3 degrees, necessary to prevent the engine nozzle from touching the runway during takeoff and landing.

The 66 cm insert affected the engine air intake with its lower part because the forward fuselage insert was only applied to the upper fuselage. As a result, the F-16XL's engine air intake was 66 cm longer than on the standard F-16A.

The wing planform was changed to a swept wing with a leading edge kink 120% larger than the original F-16 wing. In order to maintain the weight of the new wing, carbon composite materials were widely used in its upper and lower skin layers. Thus, the weight savings in the wings alone amounted to 272 kilograms. The wing spar design has a sweep angle of 50º to 70º and is 1,179 kilograms heavier than the original. An increase in the internal volume, both due to the lengthening of the fuselage and the expansion of the wing, increased the internal fuel capacities by 82%, and the increased wing area made it possible to increase the number of suspension points to 27, while increasing the combat load by almost 2 times. Despite the resulting lengthening of the fuselage, the new designation XL does not mean "Extra Large" at all.

By improving the shape of the wing and optimizing the curvature of the profile, the final configuration of the aircraft provided a 25% improvement in maximum lift over the F-16 at supersonic speeds and an 11% improvement at subsonic speeds. The handling of the F-16XL was quite different from the standard F-16, providing a more stable (smooth) flight on high speeds and low altitudes. The result was a very efficient fighter with a large wing that provides the integration of a large number of weapons on external pods.

The first of two F-16XLs (s/n 75-0749) to be modified was a single-seat turbojet engine F100-PW-200. It was first lifted into the sky on July 3, 1982 by James McKinney. The second F-16XL (serial number 75-0747) was originally equipped with a General Electric F110-GE-100 turbojet engine with a thrust of 13 tons. It was converted from the 3rd prototype aircraft (tail number A-3), which was seriously damaged in a landing accident during an open day in August 1980. During takeoff, the nose gear tire burst. It was decided to sit down without releasing the landing gear. As a result, the aircraft was badly damaged. When the airframe arrived in Fort Worth for use in the XL program, it was missing the entire front of the aircraft. During the renovation, it was converted into a double. As an XL aircraft, it first flew on October 29, 1982, piloted by Alex Wolf and Jim McKinney.

In March 1981, the US Air Force announced the creation of a new advanced tactical fighter. General Dynamics offered the F-16XL fighter for the competition, and McDonnell Douglas offered the two-seat F-15B Eagle. Thanks to the increased capacity of the fuel system and combat load, the F-16XL could carry twice more weapons than the F-16 and had a 40% increased range. The increased combat load could be placed on 27 hardpoints located as follows:

16 under the wings, 340 kg each
4 for the suspension of AMRAAM AIM-120 missiles, partially hidden in the root of the wing
2 at the wingtips
1 central ventral pylon
2 under the wings for "heavy" ammunition
2 in the lower front of the fuselage for LANTIRN low-altitude navigation sighting infrared systems

However, the "heavy" suspension on each wing was located at the same distance from the center of the fuselage as the two conventional suspensions. This means that either one "heavy" or two conventional pendants could be used, but not both at the same time.

In addition, when an additional fuel tank was placed on the "heavy" suspension, it physically covered another suspension point under the wing. Therefore, with external fuel tanks, the maximum number of suspension points for weapons on the wings was reduced to 10. On the other hand, a device for attaching two bombs could also be placed under the fuselage. Without the use of additional fuel tanks, the maximum amount of 227 kg ammunition was increased to 16. The XL could also carry a 1100 liter drop fuel tank under the fuselage.

In February 1984, the US Air Force announced its preference for the McDonnell Douglas fighter known as the F-15E Strike Eagle. If the F-16XL had won the competition, the F-16E would have been produced as a single seat and the F-16F as a double. XL lead project engineer John G. Williams said: "The XL is a wonderful aircraft, but it fell victim to the US Air Force wanting to continue producing the F-15, which is understandable. Sometimes you win these political games, sometimes not. In most respects, the XL outperforms the F-15 in quality attack aircraft, but the F-15 is good enough."

After losing a Department of Defense competition in the summer of 1985, General Dynamics returned both F-16XLs to Fort Worth, where they were stored. These aircraft flew 437 and 361 sorties, respectively, and although supersonic cruising speed without afterburner was the original goal of the F-16XL program, the aircraft never fully achieved it.

At the end of 1988, both prototypes were removed from storage and transferred to NASA, where they were assigned tail numbers 849 (A-5, #75-0749) and 848 (A-3, #75-0747). At NASA, they were used to study the concept of wing aerodynamics to improve airflow in supersonic flight.

The first F-16XL took to the air again on March 9, 1989 and flew to the Ames Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB. This aircraft has been modified to study the effects of vortex flow along the wing. To do this, millions of tiny holes (about 2,500 holes per square inch, only half a square meter of holes) were made by laser on the experimental titanium part of the left wing (the so-called gloves).

The purpose of this device, designed and built by Rockwell International's North American Aircraft Division, was to retain (by active suction) the boundary layer of air, ensuring its laminar flow. This turbulent layer of air, usually formed on the surface of the wing, adversely affects flight characteristics causing increased drag and fuel consumption. By removing the turbulent layer of air, the laminar flow touches the surface of the wing, creating much less drag. NASA research on improving laminar flow began in 1926, when NASA's predecessor organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), photographed wind tunnel airflow turbulence in its research center Langley in Hampton, Virginia. AT air flow smoke was injected and photographed, showing visual signs of turbulence on the upper surface of the wing.

Early research led to recommendations to eliminate sources of turbulence and eliminate protruding rivet heads and other design features contributing to the occurrence of turbulence at high flight speeds.

The first flight with the new wing took place on May 3, 1990, piloted by pilot Steve Ishmael. In January 1995, he conducted a series of high-speed tests with a NASA SR-71 aircraft. The aircraft were used to study sonic boom characteristics as part of the supersonic passenger aircraft program. The speed during these test flights ranged from Mach 1.25 to Mach 1.8. During flights, engineers recorded how atmospheric conditions affect sonic booms.

Air Force One was later transferred to NASA at Langley, Virginia, where it was part of a flight test program to improve takeoff performance and reduce engine noise. It was painted black with yellow stripes and a white front fuselage. Aircraft number 849 returned to Edwards AFB in 1995 where it took part in a sonic boom study with the SR-71A.

A second F-16XL (two-seat) was delivered to NASA with an experimental engine that needed to be replaced before flight testing began. NASA purchased a General Electric F110-129 engine that provided surprisingly good performance. The supersonic cruising speed of Mach 1.1 was accidentally reached at the beginning of the program at an altitude of 6000 meters. Passive "gloves" (foam and fiberglass fairing) were installed on right wing in order to study aerodynamic characteristics along the leading edge at supersonic speed, noise and pressure. On the left wing a new active fairing (twice the size of the previous aircraft) was installed, a foam and fiberglass fairing around the high-tech composite test section with porous titanium skin. Despite the asymmetry of the wings, the aircraft was easy to fly.

The fairing has a maximum thickness of 63 mm and covers 75% of the wing surface and 60% of its leading edge. The S-shaped wing contour was extended on the left side straight forward to more closely match the proposed supersonic passenger aircraft wing shape. The active area (middle 66% of the fairing) has at least 2500 laser cut holes and covers at least 0.9 square meters. The holes lead to 20 cavities under the wing surface used to control suction on the wing surface. The fairing is glued to the skin itself with epoxy resins. After the paint was removed from the aircraft, a couple of layers of fiberglass were applied to the composite skin, acting as skin protection when the fairing was removed. This aircraft is currently being used as a test bench in research project supersonic laminar flow.

Flight- specifications:
Crew: one (two on the second XL)
Aircraft length with PVD boom: 16.51 m
Wingspan: 10.44 m
Height: 5.36 m
Wing area: 61.59 m²
Empty weight: 9980 kg
Maximum takeoff weight: 21800 kg
Engine type: turbojet Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200, General Electric F110-GE-129 (second aircraft)
Thrust: 54.5 kN, 76.3 kN (second plane)
Maximum thrust: 106.0 kN, 128.9 kN (second plane)
Maximum speed at an altitude of 12000m: Mach 1.8 / 2027 km / h, Mach 2.05 / 2253 km / h (second aircraft)
Cruise speed: 965 km/h
Practical range: 4590 km
Practical ceiling: 15,240 m
Rate of climb: 315 m/s
Maximum operational overload: 9
Armament: six-barreled 20 mm gun General Electric M61A1 Vulcan (6000 rounds per minute, 511 rounds)
Combat load: - 6800 kg on 17 hardpoints

The latest best military aircraft of the Air Force of Russia and the world photos, pictures, videos about the value of a fighter aircraft as a combat weapon capable of providing "air supremacy" was recognized by the military circles of all states by the spring of 1916. This required the creation of a special combat aircraft that surpasses all others in terms of speed, maneuverability, altitude and the use of offensive small arms. In November 1915, Nieuport II Webe biplanes arrived at the front. This is the first aircraft built in France, which was intended for air combat.

The most modern domestic military aircraft in Russia and the world owe their appearance to the popularization and development of aviation in Russia, which was facilitated by the flights of Russian pilots M. Efimov, N. Popov, G. Alekhnovich, A. Shiukov, B. Rossiysky, S. Utochkin. The first began to appear domestic cars designers J. Gakkel, I. Sikorsky, D. Grigorovich, V. Slesarev, I. Steglau. In 1913, the heavy aircraft "Russian Knight" made its first flight. But one cannot fail to recall the first aircraft creator in the world - Captain 1st Rank Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky.

Soviet military aircraft of the USSR of the Great Patriotic War sought to hit the enemy troops, his communications and other objects in the rear with air strikes, which led to the creation of bomber aircraft capable of carrying a large bomb load over considerable distances. The variety of combat missions to bombard enemy forces in the tactical and operational depth of the fronts led to the understanding of the fact that their performance should be commensurate with the tactical and technical capabilities of a particular aircraft. Therefore, the design teams had to resolve the issue of specialization of bomber aircraft, which led to the emergence of several classes of these machines.

Types and classification, the latest models of military aircraft in Russia and the world. It was obvious that it would take time to create a specialized fighter aircraft, so the first step in this direction was to try to equip existing aircraft with small arms offensive weapons. Mobile machine-gun mounts, which began to equip the aircraft, required excessive efforts from the pilots, since the control of the machine in a maneuverable battle and the simultaneous firing of an unstable weapon reduced the effectiveness of firing. The use of a two-seat aircraft as a fighter, where one of the crew members played the role of a gunner, also created certain problems, because an increase in the weight and drag of the machine led to a decrease in its flight qualities.

What are the planes. In our years, aviation has made a big qualitative leap, expressed in a significant increase in flight speed. This was facilitated by progress in the field of aerodynamics, the creation of new more powerful engines, structural materials, and electronic equipment. computerization of calculation methods, etc. Supersonic speeds have become the main modes of fighter flight. However, the race for speed had its negative sides- takeoff and landing characteristics and aircraft maneuverability have sharply deteriorated. During these years, the level of aircraft construction reached such a level that it was possible to start creating aircraft with a variable sweep wing.

In order to further increase the flight speeds of jet fighters exceeding the speed of sound, Russian combat aircraft required an increase in their power-to-weight ratio, an increase in the specific characteristics of turbojet engines, and also an improvement in the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft. For this purpose, engines with an axial compressor were developed, which had smaller frontal dimensions, higher efficiency and better weight characteristics. For a significant increase in thrust, and hence the flight speed, afterburners were introduced into the engine design. The improvement of the aerodynamic forms of aircraft consisted in the use of wings and empennage with large sweep angles (in the transition to thin delta wings), as well as supersonic air intakes.

The F-16 is a 4th generation American supersonic jet fighter and the first to enter US service. For its lightness and maneuverability, it received its name "Fighting Falcon" ("attacking falcon"), in honor of the main symbol of the US Air Force Academy, on the coat of arms of which this bird is depicted.

The history of the creation of the American F-16 aircraft

At the end of the war with Vietnam, the US Air Force decided to create an improved high-speed fighter, due to the lack of effectiveness of the existing ones.

The development of a new military aircraft was carried out by the Americans in parallel with similar research by Soviet engineers, who already in 1967 presented the MiG-25, which surpassed the US achievements in this field of aircraft construction with its tactical and technical properties.

In contrast to the MiG-25, General Dynamics designed the heavyweight and expensive F-15 fighter, which could not improve the performance of the Soviet aircraft.

1969- US Air Force officers and defense analysts began work on the Light Weight Fighter program, which was based on the theory of "energy maneuverability" put forward by Major John Boyd and mathematician Thomas Christie and proving that maneuverability directly depends on the weight of the aircraft.

May 1971.- a team of like-minded people, under the leadership of Boyd, received funds for research and the formation of basic requirements for a future combat aircraft.

January 6, 1972. - studies completed, the US Air Force announces a competition among aircraft manufacturers for the design of a fighter with the following request: weight within 9.1 tons, good turning coefficient, optimization for close combat at a speed of 0.6-1.6 Mach and an altitude of 9 150-12 200 meters.

February 1972- Preliminary designs of six fighter prototypes were received from five applicant companies: Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Northrop and Vought.

March 1972- Winning companies were selected: Northrop and General Dynamics.

April 14, 1972. - Contracts for design developments were concluded with the winning aircraft manufacturers and financing was provided.

• a twin-engine device with a two-keel plumage, with the index "YF-17" from Northrop;
• single-engine ─ from General Dynamics, with the index "YF-16".

Both companies were issued orders for the construction of aircraft.

1974. - flight tests are being carried out, which showed that the YF-16 has better results, in comparison with the YF-17, in terms of such parameters as acceleration and maneuverability, as well as a lower production cost. In the same year, the name of the program was changed to "Air Combat Fighter".

January 13, 1975. - John L. McLucas, Secretary of the US Air Force, announced that the YF-16 fighter won the Air Combat Fighter competition. From that moment on, he received the index F-16A.

April 9, 1975- GD was given a small order for 15 aircraft for the US Air Force, and the loser YF-17 entered service with the Navy.

Since 1978 open large-scale production and operation of the new "air fighter".

Until 1980, The US Air Force buys 650 aircraft, after which orders for the fighter came from Europe and the Middle East.

1993. - General Dynamics sold its assets to the large aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Corporation, which later became Lockheed Martin.

The attacking falcon entered service with aviation, in more than two dozen countries of the world. Today, the largest number of F-16 fighters is operated in the USA, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, for the military aviation of these countries it has become the main combat fighter aircraft.

Design

The basic model of the F-16A fighter in the United States was developed by Robert Widmer, who created a completely innovative design.

Its features:

• combination of light weight and high load capacity;
• integral aerodynamic layout, including the design of the fuselage and wing with a forward influx, provides additional rate of climb at high angles of attack, reduces the weight of the machine and increases the interior space;
• the center of gravity of the aircraft, shifted forward, reduced the balancing resistance;
• highly sensitive radar system;
• one-piece, "teardrop" canopy for a full viewing angle;
• ergonomic seat reduced the load on the pilot; for this, the seat was tilted back by 30◦;
• control devices are located as conveniently as possible so that they are "at hand" of the pilot.

The new fighter has become not only more functional than the F-15, but also cheaper by half.

Tests have shown that with a declared flight altitude of 12,200 meters, it is capable of climbing 15,000 meters in 90 seconds and reaching supersonic speed in 40 seconds.

Flight performance

On the basis of the F-16A fighter, three more major modifications were produced (shown in the table), which retained most of the technical characteristics of the F-16 aircraft and were put into large-scale production. American engineers managed to achieve that the speed of the F-16 aircraft reached Mach 2 (one Mach is equal to the speed of sound).

F-16 fighters of various modifications have practically no external differences in design, with the exception of the cockpit, designed for one or two pilots:

Modifications are periodically improved, as a result of which their new configurations appear. The most recent is the series or block 70 made for India. The company is positioning this version as the F-16 combat aircraft of tomorrow, representing the 5th generation of fighters. F-16 block 70 is equipped with the latest technologies in the field of military aircraft construction, previously unavailable.

In addition to the main modifications, the designers also designed separate, “narrow-tasking” Falcon models, produced individually for experimental purposes or on special orders. These, for example, include the F-16XL ─ "tailless", which is distinguished by a delta wing and a kink along the leading edge.

For Israel, a two-seat F-16I from the 52 series was created, called "Sufa" (Thunderstorm). Half of the on-board equipment and weapons of the Thunderstorm are produced in Israel: an anti-missile system, a system for conducting training exercises, an on-board computer, as well as missiles and a homing system.

Among the latest configurations is the F-16V, called the "Viper" (Viper). The prototype made its first flight in 2015. The Viper is equipped with an APG-83 scalable radar antenna (SABR), which allows it to effectively detect external threats and identify targets at long distances, as well as the SNIPER system, which provides more accurate day and night aiming . It is assumed that the new version will be exported, while Lockheed Martin will be able to improve any F-16C to the standard 16V and F-16S.

The F-16 has evolved over several decades and has gone through the stages from a light day fighter to a multi-role fighter-bomber capable of conducting combat flights at night, launching air-to-air missiles, above the range of visibility.

At the same time, the disadvantage of the fighter is its vulnerability to modern means of detection, since stealth technologies are not used on it.

Participation in hostilities

Crash statistics

The overall crash statistics of the Fighting Falcon are impressive. Here are a few facts compiled from the US Aviation Safety Network website:

• since the start of operation, as of March 2018, 671 Fighting Falcon crashes have been recorded, killing 208 pilots and 98 people on the ground at the time of the fall;
• most often, disasters occurred with fighters belonging to the United States, there were a total of 286 of them;
• the first air crash occurred on August 9, 1979, with an F-16B modification aircraft in the United States, near the city of Ogden, Utah, as a result of pilot error;
• the largest, in terms of the number of casualties, and the most unpredictable, in terms of the development of events, the crash of the F-16 occurred on March 23, 1994 at the US military airbase in North Carolina and became known as the "Green Ramp disastern". The F-16 was on a training flight and collided in the sky with a C-130E cargo plane, after which the fighter began to fall apart.

The pilots ejected, and the collapsing car fell on the airfield between two aircraft standing there. At the time of the fall, a fragment of the fighter flew off and hit the fuel tank of a C-141 standing in the distance.

It pierced through it, a fireball flew further between the two buildings and flew to the site, where 500 troops were waiting to land in the C-141. 23 people died immediately, 80 were injured, one of them died after 9 months. The F-16 and C-130E pilots survived.

According to US Air Force statistics, 75% of Falcon crashes occur in controlled flight, when a technically sound aircraft is flown normally, but collides with the ground, water surface or another aircraft, as a result of pilot error.

To prevent such stalemate situations, Lockheed Martin developed the Auto GCAS automatic ground collision avoidance system, tested back in 1998, but put into operation only six years later ─ in 2014.

The system is configured in such a way that up to a certain point it only scans the flight and warns of dangerous moments, and in critical situations, without special activation by the pilot, it takes full control over itself, blocking its capabilities.

According to data posted on the company's website, since the beginning of the use of Auto GCAS, at least four pilots and fighters piloted by them have been saved with its help.

There is an opinion that the introduction of this system was facilitated by a decrease in the quality of training in the combat training of pilots.

F-16 Fighting Falcon video

F-16 reviews

Russian Su-24 shot down by a Turkish F-16

Interception of Shoigu

Takeoff at an air base in Afghanistan

F-16V

Airstrike on an Israeli F-16

"Kulbit" F-16

"Fighting Falcon" in movies and games

The popularity of the fighter jet in America is reflected in several movies and flight simulation games made, among them:

• adventure film "Pearl of the Nile", 1985;
• action movie "Iron Eagle", 1986, followed by "Iron Eagle ─ 2" and "Iron Eagle 3: Aces";
• the 1992 drama ─ "Fast and the Furious", based on real events and tells about the events taking place in connection with the crash of the F-16 and the death of the pilot;
• "The Price of Fear", 2002;
• game Strike Commander, F-16 Combat Pilot, Falcon 4.0 and others.