The General Dynamics F-16
Fighting Falcon was the weapon used in killing the Iraqi Al Qaeda Terrorist,
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on this date, 7 June 2006. I chose this as the Weapon of
the Fortnight. I got some of the information from Wikipedia.
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A USAF F-16C over Iraq in 2008
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The
General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) F-16 Fighting Falcon
is a 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 4,500
aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no
longer being purchased by the U.S. Air Force, improved versions are still being
built for export customers. 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.
The
Fighting Falcon is a fighter with numerous innovations including a frameless bubble
canopy for better visibility, side-mounted control stick to ease control while
maneuvering, a seat reclined 30 degrees 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 helps to make it a nimble aircraft. The F-16 has an internal M61
Vulcan cannon and 11 locations for mounting weapons and other mission
equipment. The F-16's official name is "Fighting Falcon", but
"Viper" is commonly used by its pilots, due to a perceived
resemblance to a viper snake as well as the Battlestar Galactica Colonial
Viper starfighter.
In
addition to active duty U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, and Air
National Guard units, the aircraft is also used by the USAF aerial
demonstration team, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and as an
adversary/aggressor aircraft by the United States Navy. The F-16 has also been
procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations.
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A right side view of a YF-16 (foreground) and
a Northrop YF-17, each armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
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Role
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Multirole fighter aircraft
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National
origin
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United States
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Manufacturer
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General Dynamics
Lockheed Martin |
First
flight
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20 January 1974
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Introduction
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17 August 1978
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Status
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In service, in production
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Primary users
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United States Air Force
25 other users (see operators page) |
Number
built
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4,500+
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Unit
cost
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F-16A/B: US$14.6 million
(1998 dollars)
F-16C/D: US$18.8 million (1998 dollars) |
Variants
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Developed
into
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| YF-16 on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center |
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A F-16 "Aggressor" flying over the
Alaska Range in April 2010
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A F-16C of the Colorado Air National Guard
with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and a centerline fuel tank (300 gal capacity)
after disengaging from a refueling boom.
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Comparison between F-16's inset cannons;
early aircraft had four vents, while later aircraft had two.
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Comparison between F-16's inset cannons;
early aircraft had four vents, while later aircraft had two.
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F-16CJ of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB,
South Carolina, armed with a mix of air-to-air missiles, anti-radiation
missiles, external fuel tanks and support equipment
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F-16C of the South Carolina Air National
Guard in-flight over North Carolina equipped with air-to-air missiles, bomb
rack, targeting pods and Electronic Counter Measures pod
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F-16 ground trainer cockpit (F-16 MLU)
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Mechanics actuating an F-16 exhaust nozzle.
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In the meantime you can have a look at some great F-16 photos :
ReplyDeleteF-16 Fighting Falcon Pictures