View source for General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
 |name= F-16 Fighting Falcon
 |image= File:F-16 June 2008.jpg
 |caption= A US Air Force F-16C over Iraq in 2008
 |alt= Airplane flying over desert, carrying fuel and weapons
}}{{Infobox aircraft type
 |type= [[Multirole fighter]], [[air superiority fighter]]
 |national origin= United States
 |manufacturer= [[General Dynamics]] <br />[[Lockheed Martin]]
 |first flight= {{Start date and age|1974|01|20|df=yes}} (unplanned) <br />{{Start date and age|1974|02|02|df=yes}} (official)
 |introduced= {{Start date and age|1978|08|17|df=yes}}
 |retired=
 |status= In service
 |primary user= [[United States Air Force]]
 |more users= 25 other [[#Operators|users]]
 |produced= 1973–2017, 2019–present<ref name="Def1_F-16_line_to_SC">{{cite news |last1= Weisgerber |first1= Marcus |title= Lockheed to Move F-16 Production to South Carolina |url= https://www.defenseone.com/business/2017/03/lockheed-move-f-16-production-line-south-carolina/136365/ |accessdate= 28 June 2018 |work= Defense One |date= 22 March 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180623032928/https://www.defenseone.com/business/2017/03/lockheed-move-f-16-production-line-south-carolina/136365/ |archive-date= 23 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 |number built= 4,604 (June 2018)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/aviation/article186288298.html |title= How the F-16 fighter jet put Fort Worth on the aerospace map |work= star-telegram.com |accessdate= 24 November 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171124152750/http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/aviation/article186288298.html |archive-date= 24 November 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bahrain">{{Cite web | url=https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-06-25-Lockheed-Martin-Awarded-Contract-to-Build-F-16-Block-70-Aircraft-for-Bahrain | title=Lockheed Martin Awarded Contract to Build F-16 Block 70 Aircraft for Bahrain | access-date=28 June 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629022206/https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-06-25-Lockheed-Martin-Awarded-Contract-to-Build-F-16-Block-70-Aircraft-for-Bahrain | archive-date=29 June 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref>
 |unit cost= F-16A/B: {{US$|link=yes|14.6 million}} (1998) <ref name=AF_fact_sh>{{cite web |url=http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104505/f-16-fighting-falcon.aspx |title=F-16 Fact Sheet |publisher=U.S. Air Force |date=23 September 2015 |accessdate=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129162437/http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104505/f-16-fighting-falcon.aspx |archive-date=29 January 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> <br />F-16C/D: {{US$|18.8 million}} (1998)<ref name=AF_fact_sh />
|developed into= [[Vought Model 1600]] <br />[[General Dynamics F-16XL]] <br />[[Mitsubishi F-2]]
}}
|}

The '''General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falco''' is a one-engine [[multirole combat aircraft]]. It was originally designed and built by [[General Dynamics]], which is now part of [[Lockheed Martin]].<ref>Rosenwald, Michael S. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR2007121601522.html "Downside of Dominance? Popularity of Lockheed Martin's F-16 Makes Its F-35 Stealth Jet a Tough Sell."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014055458/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR2007121601522.html |date=14 October 2017 }} ''Washington Post'', updated 17 December 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Lockheed-Martin-Corporation-Company-History.html|title=Company Histories – Lockheed Martin Corporation|work=Funding universe|accessdate=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417221322/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Lockheed-Martin-Corporation-Company-History.html|archive-date=17 April 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) ordered the F-16 in 1972. The airplane first flew four years later in 1976. Over 4,600 F-16s have been built since then.<ref name= 4500-F16_sold>{{cite web |date= 2012-04-02 |url= http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/02/143842/lockheed-martin-to-deliver-4500th.html |title= Lockheed Martin to deliver 4,500th F-16 fighter |work= McClatchy DC |accessdate= 13 September 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140731002852/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/02/143842/lockheed-martin-to-deliver-4500th.html |archive-date= 31 July 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> The airplane has been used by more than 25 [[Air force|air forces]] around the world.<ref name="LM Morocco Sale">Stout, Joe and Laurie Quincy. [http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2008/060608ae_f16morocco.html "United States Government Awards Lockheed Martin Contract to Begin Production of Advanced F-16 Aircraft for Morocco."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104091800/http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2008/060608ae_f16morocco.html |date=4 January 2009 }} ''Lockheed Martin press release'', 8 June 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2008.</ref> It is also used by the [[Thunderbirds]], the USAF's aerobatics team. As of 2015, there are more F-16s in military use than any other [[fixed-wing aircraft]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/strength-in-numbers-the-world39s-top-10-military-aircraft-407756/ |title= Strength in numbers: The World's Top 10 military aircraft types |date= 9 January 2015 |website= Flight global |publisher= Reed Business Information |access-date= 30 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015031/https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/strength-in-numbers-the-world39s-top-10-military-aircraft-407756/ |archive-date= 17 November 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Capabilities ==
The F-16 is able to fly at twice the [[speed of sound]]. It is armed with a [[M61 Vulcan]] [[Gatling gun]] and has eleven places where weapons or other equipment can be attached. It was the first production combat airplane to be designed [[relaxed stability|to be unstable to be easier to turn]], and has [[Fly-By-Wire|easier controls]] to make it highly [[aerobatics|agile]] in the air. Its designers also used many other new ideas such as a [[bubble canopy]] to help the pilot see better and a control stick on the side of the [[cockpit]] to make it easier to steer during tight turns and high [[g-force]]s.

The F-16's official name is "Fighting Falcon", but it is often called the "Viper" by its pilots and crews. The nickname came from the fact that the [[viper]] snake is known for its deadly fangs and venom, and because the Colonial Viper [[spacecraft]] from ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'' was popular when the airplane was introduced to the USAF.<ref name="EyeoftheViper xxii">Aleshire 2005, p. xxii.</ref><ref>Peacock 1997, p. 100.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/history/f16.html|title=F-16 Fighting Falcon|date=23 May 2018 |access-date=14 October 2019|publisher=Lockheed Martin}}</ref>

==Users==
[[File:F-16 operators.png|thumb|upright=1.8|Map with F-16 users in blue with former operator in red]]
[[File:F-16C block 52+ fighter jet, Hellenic Air Force (November 2010).jpg|thumb|F-16C block 52 of the [[Greece]]]]

{{colbegin|colwidth=12em}}
*{{BHR}}
*{{BEL}}
*{{CHI}}
*{{DEN}}
*{{EGY}}
*{{GRE}}
*{{IDN}}
*{{IRQ}}
*{{ISR}}
*{{JOR}}
*{{MAR}}
*{{NLD}}
*{{NOR}}
*{{OMN}}
*{{PAK}}
*{{POL}}
*{{POR}}
*{{ROM}}
*{{SGP}}
*{{KOR}}
*{{TWN}}
*{{THA}}
*{{TUR}}
*{{UKR}}, has "F-16AM/BM models" or<ref>https://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/37255. Retrieved 2024-08-12</ref> fourth-[[generation]] F-16 airplanes (since 2024's third quarter)<ref name=LoadedForBear>https://www.kyivpost.com/post/36931. Retrieved 2024-08-05</ref>
*{{UAE}}
*{{USA}}
*{{VEN}}
{{Colend}}

===Past users===
* {{ITA}} – [[Italian Air Force]] leased up to 30 F-16As and 4 F-16Bs from the US Air Force from 2001 until 2012.

==Related pages==
* [[F-15 Eagle]]
* [[F-14 Tomcat]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Transport-stub}}

[[Category:United States Air Force aircraft]]