The Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as a lightweight, day-time Visual Flight Rules (VFR) fighter.
While the F15 and F16 are no longer the final word in air dominance, they will remain among the worlds top fighters for years to come.
Their airframes are decades old, but the avionics and weapons systems are continually upgraded as new technologies become available. These systems are state of the art and will remain so as long as upgrades continue. The airframes too are still viable and are superior to 99% of existing combat planes. Very few air forces will be able to acquire better technology any time soon.
The F-16 (Fighting Falcon) has a maximum speed of 1,500 mph (Mach 2 at sea level). . Even though designed and built in the mid 70's (over 30 years) is is still considered the most maneuverable fighter in the sky, able to structurally pull 9G's without sustaining any damage. It has a ferry range of about 2000 miles, but more importantly it has the capability of flying fully loaded 500 miles, loiter there for a while, deliver it's weapons with pinpoint accuracy, and return. It is the cheapest fighter in our inventory by far also.
F-16 built by LockheedMultirole fighter
Contractor: Lockheed
Crew: F-16C: one
F-16D: one or two
Unit Cost: F-16A/B: $14.6 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)
F-16C/D: $18.8 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)
Powerplant
F-16C/D: one Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-200/220/229 or one General Electric F110-GE-100/129
Dimensions
Length: 49 feet, 5 inches (14.8 meters)
Wingspan: 32 feet, 8 inches (9.8 meters)
Height: 16 feet (4.8 meters)
Weights
Empty: 19,100 lb (8663 kg) -- F-16C
Maximum Takeoff: 37,500 pounds (16,875 kilograms)
Performance
Speed: 1,500 mph (Mach 2 at altitude)
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