Lockheed
F-16 VISTA Falcon
Lockheed / GD
F-16 VISTA Fighting Falcon
Role Multirole fighter, air superiority fighter
National origin United States
Manufacturer
General Dynamics (1974–1993)
Lockheed Corporation (1993–1995)
Lockheed Martin (1995–present)
First flight
20 January 1974; 49 years ago (unplanned)
2 February 1974; 49 years ago (official)
Introduction 17 August 1978; 45 years ago
Status In service
Primary users United States Air Force
25 other users (see operators page)
Produced 1973–2017, 2019–present
Number built 4,604 (June 2018)
Variants General Dynamics X-62 VISTA
Developed into
Vought Model 1600
General Dynamics F-16XL
Mitsubishi F-2
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History General Dynamics / Lockheed
F-16 VISTA Fighting Falcon
The idea is to use VISTA to simulate situations in the air. Pilots undergoing training will be able to practice more lifelike. At the same time, the Air Force does not have to free up pilots to pilot the training aircraft. Something that costs a lot of time and money. But the Air Force also has ambitions to use the software it develops during war situations.
A Lockheed-Martin fighter plane flew for 17 hours without a pilot. It was piloted by artificial intelligence, the first time such a thing has happened. The question arises whether we are not heading toward robotic wars because of this kind of system. "You can't leave decisions about life and death to a machine," believes Professor Sven Biscop, who specializes in security and defense.
Kenneth Dee 15-02-23, 18:01
'VISTA' is the name of the plane, and the aircraft is specially designed to imitate other (fighter) aircraft. It is actually a modified F16 on which software can be easily installed. So in this case to make the aircraft fly autonomously, without human intervention. During several test flights, VISTA was allowed to take off and land under variable conditions. No notable problems were detected during these, Lockheed said.
Self-flying war machines
The U.S. Air Force is determined to deploy autonomous aircraft. The development of such aircraft has recently received a firm boost. VISTA is just about the most important aircraft being tested on.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Design and development
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KmCeiling
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Max Crew
General Dynamics / Lockheed
F-16 Vista Fighting Falcon
Photo Gallery
Lockheed / Martin aircraft
data F-16 block 52+ MLU Fighting Falcon
General Info
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- Crew: 1
- Length: 49 ft 5 in (15.06 m)
- Wingspan: 32 ft 8 in (9.96 m)
- Height: 16 ft (4.9 m)
- Wing area: 300 sq ft (28 m2)
Powerplant
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- Empty weight: 18,900 lb (8,573 kg)
- Gross weight: 26,500 lb (12,020 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: (19,187 kg)
- Fuel capacity: (3,200 kg) internal
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Powerplant: 1 × General Electric F110-GE-129 for Block 50 aircraft , 17,155 lbf (76.31 kN) thrust dry, 29,500 lbf (131 kN) with afterburner
(1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 for Block 52 aircraft, 17,800 lbf (79 kN) thrust dry and 29,160 lbf (129.7 kN) with afterburner.
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.05, 1,176 kn (1,353 mph; 2,178 km/h) at 40,000 feet, clean
- Mach 1.2, 800 kn (921 mph; 1,482 km/h) at sea level
- Combat range: 295 nmi (339 mi, 546 km) on a hi-lo-hi mission with 4 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
- Ferry range: 2,277 nmi (2,620 mi, 4,217 km) with drop tanks
- Service ceiling: (15,000 m)
- g limits: +9.0
- Roll rate: 324°/s
Armament
- Guns: 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel rotary cannon, 511 rounds
- Hardpoints: 2 × wing-tip air-to-air missile launch rails, 6 × under-wing, and 3 × under-fuselage pylon (2 of 3 for sensors) stations with a capacity of up to 17,000 lb (7,700 kg) of stores
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Links to Youtube & Others
Ready then, ready now, ahead of ready for what’s to come. Transforming 4th Generation for the next generation with the newest and most advanced F-16. Meet the Block 70/72 Fighting Falcon.
Lockheed/Martin
F-35A/B/C Lightning II
On May 2, 2011, while on patrol near the Nuristan province of Afghanistan, U. S. Air Force Maj. John Caldwell peered out from the bubbled canopy of his F-16 and saw nothing but desert.
Youtube Link
Lockheed Martin delivered the 4,500th F-16 Fighting Falcon in March 2012. Follow this aircraft's amazing legacy.
Read more in Lockheed Aviation
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