The YF-16 was developed by a team of General Dynamics engineers led by Robert H. The mix gained broad acceptance by the time of the prototypes' fly-off, defining the relationship between the LWF and the F-15. The 'high/low mix' would allow the USAF to be able to afford sufficient fighters for its overall fighter force structure requirements. To overcome resistance in the Air Force hierarchy, the Fighter Mafia and other LWF proponents successfully advocated the idea of complementary fighters in a high-cost/low-cost force mix.

GD and Northrop were awarded contracts worth $37.9 million and $39.8 million to produce the YF-16 and YF-17, respectively, with the first flights of both prototypes planned for early 1974. Selection of finalists and flyoff Ī right-side view of a YF-16 (foreground) and a Northrop YF-17, each armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder missilesįive companies responded, and in 1972, the Air Staff selected General Dynamics' Model 401 and Northrop's P-600 for the follow-on prototype development and testing phase. This production plan was hypothetical as the USAF had no firm plans to procure the winner. The anticipated average flyaway cost of a production version was $3 million. This was the region where USAF studies predicted most future air combat would occur. The request for proposals issued on 6 January 1972 called for a 20,000-pound (9,100 kg) class air-to-air day fighter with a good turn rate, acceleration, and range, and optimized for combat at speeds of Mach 0.6–1.6 and altitudes of 30,000–40,000 feet (9,100–12,000 m). As a result, in May 1971, the Air Force Prototype Study Group was established, with Boyd a key member, and two of its six proposals would be funded, one being the Lightweight Fighter (LWF). The Advanced Day Fighter concept, renamed F-XX, gained civilian political support under the reform-minded Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard, who favored the idea of competitive prototyping. Īir Force F-X proponents were opposed to the concept because they perceived it as a threat to the F-15 program, but the USAF's leadership understood that its budget would not allow it to purchase enough F-15 aircraft to satisfy all of its missions. 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. 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. Based on his experience 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. US Vietnam War experience showed the need for air superiority fighters and better air-to-air training for fighter pilots. Main article: Lightweight Fighter program As of 2015, it was the world's most numerous fixed-wing aircraft in military service. The F-16 has also been procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team, the US Combat Air Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Team, and as an adversary/aggressor aircraft by the United States Navy. Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, and Air National Guard units, the aircraft is also used by the U.S. The F-16 has an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 hardpoints. The Fighting Falcon's key features include a frameless bubble canopy for good visibility, 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. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. Air Force, improved versions are being built for export customers. Although no longer being purchased by the U.S. Over 4,600 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft.

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF).

Falcon jet