F-16 Falcon Thread, News, Pics, videos

[Jeff Head]

10 years of F-16 service in Poland. Polish Air Force aircrafts F-16 block 52+ Fighting Falcon (also known as a Viper) during two exceptional Air-to-Air video sessions from the deck CASA C-295.

Well, the Poles have done some good thing...albeit relative small numbers. As I understand it, their combat aircraft consist of:

36 x F-16C
12 x F-16D
32 x Mig-29A/UB
18 x SU-22M4

As I say, not a lot (98 aircraft total), but some decent aircraft.

 

[FORBIN]

Yep Master Jeff they need 30/50 fighters in more clearly M-346 light fighter can be a idea.

But F-16 get soon AGM-158A only country to have except USA with Australia and Finland.

 

[Jeff Head]

Yep Master Jeff they need 30/50 fighters in more clearly but F-16 get soon AGM-158A only country to have except USA with Australia and Finland.

Yes, and that's wih the AGM-158...a range of 370 km!

Perhaps they will get the "B" with a range of 1,000 km!

...and maybe at some point, the AGM-158C which is the LRASM, and a range also of almost 10,000 km against ships.

Just having the standard JASSM though is very nice for the Poles.

 

[FORBIN]

Soon new operator Romania, an F-16B, first deliveries normaly this month replace Mig-21 modernized Lancer.

 

[SouthernSky]

F-16 auto pilot system saves the life of an unconscious fighter pilot.

Nobody likes having a bad day at work, but for fighter pilots, the extreme g-forces involved in even routine aerial manoeuvres make for a uniquely dangerous occupational hazard.

And that's perhaps never clearer than when watching this newly declassified

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from the US Air Force, which records the frantic moments when an F-16 test pilot passed out due to G-LOC –

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.

Fortunately for him, the F-16's Auto-GCAS (

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) steps in at just the right moment, preventing what could have otherwise been a fatal accident.

As you can see in the video, when G-LOC happens, it happens pretty fast.

The pilot, a trainee whose call sign is Ocho, was flying over the US southwest as part of a training exercise on May 5 this year. His instructor, who you can hear in the audio, was flying a separate F-16 at the time.

At first, everything looks like it's going fine, with Ocho performing a basic fighter manoeuvre. But as the F-16 hits about 8.3G (in

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) in a turn, the pilot passes out and the jet begins to steeply nose-dive towards the desert below.

For reference, a typical person can

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, and with training, fighter pilots can take a sustained 9G. But on this day, the turn proved to be too much for the trainee, who suddenly lost consciousness without warning.

"I started to roll and started to pull and I'm following [the instructor pilot] with my eyes,"

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.

"The next thing I remember is just waking up and hearing 'recover'. It happened so fast. Usually, most people get tunnel vision that gradually comes in. That's what I always get, but that day I didn't get anything."

The whole drama escalates quickly. In the space of less than 20 seconds, the F-16 plummets from an altitude of around 17,000 feet (5,181 metres) to under 9,000 feet (2,743 metres).

At this point, Auto-GCAS kicks in, pulling the jet out of its nose dive with only seconds to spare. The aircraft gets as low as about 4,300 feet (1,310 metres) before the F-16 begins to rise again.

The instructor, Major Luke O'Sullivan from the Arizona Air National Guard's 152nd Fighter Squadron, can be heard yelling "Recover!" to his trainee during the nose dive, but luckily for all, the safety feature operates without a hitch.

"It's definitely a valuable system,"

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. "It does what it's supposed to and it works."

The technology is the result of nearly 30 years of development by NASA, the Air Force, and Lockheed Martin. Auto-GCAS works by continuously comparing the trajectory of the aircraft to a terrain profile generated from onboard terrain elevation data.

The instant the system predicts the trajectory will collide with the terrain profile, it executes an automatic recovery, turning the craft upwards with a 5G pull until the coast is clear. Job done, and everybody gets to walk away.

"To date, this technology has saved four pilots' lives in training and combat. This means their families didn't lose a husband, father, son or brother,"

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, commander of the 416th Flight Test Squadron. "It's a huge win and I can't overstate how meaningful it is."

Source

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[FORBIN]

New operator Romania replace Mig-21 Lancer B/C, first batch of six F-16MLUs to Romania today. Another three later this year, last three in 2017.
F-16A/B Bl 15 after modernised in AM/BM with MLU modernisation all European countries have do.

Possible also Bulgaria buy second hand F-16 want for replaced Mig-29, presumably also 12.

Main advantage F-16 with AIM-120 is able for BVR combat also better for bombing ofc.

Romania takes ‘Vipers’ on charge:

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[Jeff Head]

New operator Romania replace Mig-21 Lancer B/C, first batch of six F-16MLUs to Romania today. Another three later this year, last three in 2017.

Possible also Bulgaria buy second hand F-16 want for replaced Mig-29, presumably also 12.

Main advantage F-16 with AIM-120 is able for BVR combat also better for bombing ofc.

Romania takes ‘Vipers’ on charge:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

View attachment 32537
View attachment 32538

Excellent stuff here Forbin

Thanks.

India could embark on this path too you know?

I wonder how much Romania is paying for these F-16s?

 

[FORBIN]

Excellent stuff here Forbin

Thanks.

India could embark on this path too you know?

I wonder how much Romania is paying for these F-16s?

$203 million

In article, not young bird but much more capable than Mig-21 Lancer ! can serve again 10/15 years maybe.

India want a customized variant of Block 60 i think, Block 80 i have see recently ? and presumably majority build by HAL localy can be long.. ! yet just for sign the deal no for do French propaganda but really better they go with Rafale the deal is signed with options much more fast for their needs.

 

[FORBIN]

Not 200 millions $ but 600.

The 6 Romanians F-16 arrived yesterday and new pics to Portugal

 

[Jeff Head]

Not 200 millions $ but 600.

The 6 Romanians F-16 arrived yesterday and new pics to Portugal
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So, $600 million for 6 aircraft. What all is included?

Is it really $100 million each? Or something less than that with a lot of support, spare parts, etc.