HOW THE F-16 CHANGED AIR WARFARE FOREVER

[rangerrebew]

HOW THE F-16 CHANGED AIR WARFARE FOREVER
AIRPOWER
BY ALEX HOLLINGS
JANUARY 19, 2024
 

The F-16 Fighting Falcon, known affectionately by many pilots as the Viper, is the most widely operated fighter aircraft on the planet for a reason.

In an era when fighter designs were largely focused on what could be argued were glamour metrics like top speed and service ceiling, the F-16 emerged as the embodiment of a new approach to air warfare. Using a classified analysis of air-to-air combat as its guide, General Dynamics devised a fighter that emphasized performance within the specific speed-envelope in which dogfights were likely to occur.

The result was an aircraft that may not set any speed or climbing records like the F-15 Eagle that preceded it, but that could nonetheless outmatch, outturn, and outperform nearly any fighter it could come across… and all for less than half the cost of top-tier fighters of its day.

https://www.sandboxx.us/news/how-the-f-16-changed-air-warfare-forever/

[rangerrebew]

HOW THE F-16 CHANGED AIR WARFARE FOREVER

At one time the crossbow was considered the weapon to end all wars.

[PeteS in CA]

At one time the crossbow was considered the weapon to end all wars.

I think that the point of the article was that the F-16 (and F-18) changed the focus of fighter design from speed and climb rate to speed, climb, and maneuverability. I doubt that the article suggested that the F-16 would last forever (though its 45+ years and counting in service is pretty impressive).