The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multi-role jet fighter aircraft manufactured by General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin for the United States Air Force . Designed as a light fighter , it became a successful multi-role
fighter. Flexibility and low cost are the reasons for the success of the F-16 in the export market, it is currently in use in 24 countries. [6] As of 2016, the F-16 is the largest aircraft program in the West with more than 4,500 aircraft built since production began in 1976. Although no longer in production for the US Air Force ., it is still built for export. [7] In addition to the official service in units of the Air Force, Air Reserve Command, Air National Defense Command, the F-16 was also selected as the official demonstration aircraft of the country. Thunderbirds squadron of the United States Air Force, used as a combat fighter in training by the United States Navy .
The Fighting Falcon is a successful fighter with many innovative advantages such as an all-glass bubble cockpit for increased visibility, side controls for easy maneuvering in high gravity conditions, and a flying seat. 30- degree tilt to reduce the effect of gravity on the pilot. It is also the first fighter jet to be purposefully designed to resist spinning up to 9 g . It is also one of the few jets with a thrust- to-weight ratio greater than one, giving the Falcon very good acceleration. [ citation needed ]
Although the F-16’s official name is “Fighting Falcon”, it is often referred to by pilots as ” Viper “, after the game Battlestar Galactica Star Wars . [8] In 1993 General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing facility to Lockheed Corporation , which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin following a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta . [9]
Besides the advantages, the F-16 also has disadvantages, including a rather high rate of malfunctions and accidents. As of June 2020, the F-16 holds the record for the number of accidents as well as the accident rate among the popular 4th generation fighters in the world. 894 F-16s have been involved in accidents (19.87% of all F-16s built), an average of 22.4 F-16s per year in accidents around the world. Of those that crashed, 658 were completely destroyed (14.6% of all F-16s built), meaning that more than 1 out of every 7 F-16s produced was damaged. destroyed by accident [10] . This rate is also higher than that of contemporaries such as the F-15 (10.9% accident rate), F/A-18 Hornet (13.1% accident rate), Su- 27(accident rate is 4%), MiG-29 (accident rate is 7.9%).
