How Has The F-16 Evolved Since Its Introduction?

Hard to believe as it may seem, the General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon (or as its crews prefer to affectionately call it, the “Viper”) is now 50 years old, with the golden anniversary of its unofficial (read: inadvertent) and official maiden flights having taken place this past January 20 and February 2 respectively.

Compared with 5th Generation fighter jets like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II (both also Lockheed Martin products, coincidentally enough), not to mention the pending 6th Generation Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, the Fighting Falcon is no spring chicken (bad avian pun intended).

The F-16’s age notwithstanding, this warbird has not remained frozen in time. Rather, and in keeping with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) dictum that “Flexibility is the key to airpower,” the airframe has proven itself highly adaptable, going through multiple evolutions, improvements, and upgrades these past five decades. Simple Flying will now examine some of the key moments in the evolutionary history of this living legend of a warbird.

Big Picture overview

As noted by Duotech Services:

“These improvements have included advanced radar systems, precision munitions capabilities, and updated avionics. There have also been enhancements in engine performance, structural upgrades to extend service life, and the integration of modern electronic warfare systems. Despite evolving combat requirements and technological advancements, these updates have ensured that the F-16 remains a formidable aircraft.”

Photo: kavisimi | Shutterstock

“The Viper has adapted to various mission roles over its service life. Originally designed as an air superiority fighter, it has evolved into a multi-role aircraft capable of multiple tasks. These include air-to-air combat, air-to-ground strikes, electronic warfare, and reconnaissance missions. Its adaptability and continuous upgrades have allowed it to remain effective in diverse combat situations, making it a versatile tool in modern air forces.”

Or to rephrase that with more brevity and crudeness alike, let’s hear it straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth, namely Dos Gringos, a professional singing duo comprised of two real-life USAF F-16 drivers, Chris “Snooze” Kurek and Rob “Trip” Raymond (relevant lyrics begin at the 1:49 mark):

1981: “”Blooded” in combat by the Israelis

As I noted in a previous article, the Israeli Air Force gave the F-16 its first acid tests of real-world combat, in both the air-to-air and air-to-ground roles.

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The Jewish State’s F-16 drivers achieved the platform’s first air-to-air kills when IAF fighter pilots shot down two aircraft, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter, and a MiG-21 “Fishbed” fighter plane, both Syrian, in April and July 1981, respectively.

But it was June 7 of that year (43 years ago today as I type these words) that the Israelis put the exclamation point on the F-16’s combat initiation when they demonstrated to the world just how effective the Fighting Falcon could be as a ground attack plane. That was the date they carried out Operation Babylon AKA Operation Opera, the strike against Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq, thus setting back Saddam’s aspiring nuclear weapons program by a decade…at which point USAF F-16s would take their own turns inflicting devastation upon Saddam’s war machine during Operation Desert Storm (the 1991 Persian Gulf War).

1984: Going two-seater

Even though “Trip” and “Snooze” proudly sing about the Viper being “single-seat,” the fact is that there has been a two-seat variant of the Fighting Falcon since August 8, 1977 (coincidentally a mere eight days before Elvis died), starting with the F-16B variant, followed by the F-16D in 1984, and the F-16I Sufa (“Storm;” developed for the Israeli Air Force) in September 1997. The two-seat version has proven itself to be every bit as effective as its single-seat sibling.

2012: Behold…the Viper!

In the F-16V, the first variant of the F-16 to bear the *official* moniker of “Viper” as opposed to the affectionate unofficial nickname bestowed on the earlier versions. The F-16V Viper was first unveiled at the 2012 Singapore Airshow. Some of the improvements installed in this deadly flying snake include:

• AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, thus providing the Viper with 5th Generation fighter radar capabilities by leveraging hardware and software commonality with F-22 and F-35 AESA radars
• New mission computer and electronic warfare suite
• Automated ground collision avoidance system
• Reduced radar cross-section (RCS)
• 50 percent greater airframe structural longevity compared with previous models

2015: From fighting against Iraq…to fighting *for* Iraq

As already noted, in 1981 and 1991, respectively, the Israeli Air Force and USAF’s F-16s took the fight against Saddam Hussein’s brutal dictatorial regime in Iraq. Fast-forward to 2015…and this time the F-16s were fighting for Iraq. More specifically, fighting for post-Saddam, democratic Iraq, and taking the fight to the Islamic State/ISIS/Da’esh terrorist group. While there are multiple former adversaries of the U.S. that are now using the F-16 — from Ukraine (former Soviet republic) to Romania to Poland (both former Warsaw Pact satellite nations) — to my knowledge, Iraq is the first former adversary nation that had previously the brunt of the F-16’s destructive ordnance and is now using the plane to fight on its own behalf.

The Iraqi Air Force (IqAF; القوات الجوية العراقية/Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah) F-16 program had its genesis in December 2011, when the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) informed the U.S. Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of 18 F-16IQ aircraft along with the associated equipment and services to the then-newly reformed IqAF. The total value of the sale was estimated at $4.2 billion USD. However, the IqAF’s dream of modernization via the F-16IQ didn’t actually become a reality until June 2015, right in the midst of the anti-ISIS fight.

And on a personal note, I’m damn proud to say that not only was I there to witness the in-country arrival of those F-16IQs, but I played a direct role in that veritable Renaissance of the IqAF. To repeat what I said in my recent Simple Flying article on the combat capabilities of the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF), back from April 2015 to December 2018, I had the personal honor and pleasure of working as a damn dirty mercenary, er, privateer, er, private military contractor (PMC) at Balad Air Base, training and mentoring the IqAF security forces troops in airbase ground defense so that Balad could be certified to host those F-16s. (Regarding the Photo Gallery above; for Operational Security [OPSEC] reasons, I wasn’t allowed to take any pics of the F-16IQs, but for what it’s worth, I did get some pics in front of a Saddam-era leftover MiG-23 “Flogger.”)

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Those young troops passed the U.S Government (USG) inspection team-initiated training exercises with flying colors…and when those first two IqAF Vipers touched down at Balad in 2015…man oh man, those kids (well, okay, young adults) were whooping it up with unadulterated joy as if their country had just won the World Cup.

End result? Iraq was supplied with 36 Block 50/52 jets — 24 single-seat and 12 twin-seat — bearing the F-16IQ designation, and they played a major role in defeating the Da’esh scourge within their borders. (I worked closely with this one IqAF full-bird Colonel and F-16 driver who, according to my colleagues, “killed a lot of ISIS.”) By 2023, the USG reported that these warplanes were the IqAF’s most capable airborne platforms with a 66 percent mission-capable rate.

The present and future

As proud as Lockheed Martin is of their 5th Generation F-22s and F-35s (both brainchildren of their legendary “Skunk Works” program, they’re certainly not content to rest on their laurels with the 4th Generation F-16. The company’s current info page is touting the Block 70/72 F-16 as “the most advanced 4th generation fighter ever built” and proudly declares: