History
The General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fourth-generation fighter aircraft developed by General Dynamics and produced by multiple companies, including General Dynamics until 1993 and Lockheed Martin since.[3] Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft with over 4,600 built since 1976.[4]
The aircraft was first developed by General Dynamics in 1974. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to Lockheed, which became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta.[6] The F-16’s key features include a frameless bubble canopy for enhanced cockpit visibility, a side-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. The fighter has a single turbofan engine, an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 hardpoints. Although officially named “Fighting Falcon”, the aircraft is commonly known by the nickname “Viper” among its crews and pilots.
Since its introduction in 1978, the F-16 became a mainstay of the U.S. Air Force’s tactical airpower, where it mainly replaced the F-105 Thunderchief, A-7 Corsair II, and F-4 Phantom II. The F-16 primarily performed strike and suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) missions, and in the latter role, it replaced the F-4G Wild Weasel by 1996. In addition to active duty in the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, and Air National Guard units, the aircraft is also used by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team, the US Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Team,[8] and as an adversary/aggressor aircraft by the United States Navy. The F-16 has also been procured by the air forces of 25 other nations. F-16s from various US-led coalitions flew combat missions in the Gulf War, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya, and Iraq and Syria. F-16s have also seen extensive combat use by Israel, Pakistan, and Ukraine. Since 1982, it has been a Dual Capable Aircraft platform for US nuclear weapons in Europe. Numerous countries have begun replacing the aircraft with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and Lockheed Martin F-16V Viper, although the original versions of F-16 also remain in service with many operators.
Although the original versions are no longer in production, improved versions of the Lockheed Martin F-16V Viper family are being built and upgraded for export in a new production facility of Lockheed Martin.[As of 2026, it is the world’s most common fixed-wing aircraft in military service, with approximately 2,102 from the F-16 family operational, comprising 15% of all active combat aircraft
