The aircraft of the American company Lockheed Martin F-16 are among the most influential aircraft in the history of combat aviation. It has been 50 years since the production of the first plane. For this reason, a demonstration of old and new products was also carried out at the Royal International Air Tattoo, in Fairford, Gloucestershire.
50 years ago, the YF-16 prototype took off for the first time in an unexpected event and immediately drew attention to the role of an aircraft that the world then came to know as the F16 in modern air defense.
Today, the F16, popularly known as the Fighting Falcon, is an extremely important element for NATO and the Atlantic coalition fleet, used in operations in 25 countries of the Alliance.
At some point, F16s are always seen as the backbone, the most important part of the intervention somewhere in the world. The F-16, originally conceived as a lightweight and highly maneuverable fighter, has evolved to serve in various roles, becoming a versatile multi-role fighter.
The initial flight of the F-16 in 1974 occurred earlier than planned, when pilot Phil Oestricher, intending to conduct a high-speed taxi test, was forced to take off due to the aircraft yawing and suddenly rolling. Since that unplanned flight, more than 4,600 F16s have been produced by Lockheed Martin, totaling 19.25 million flight hours and 13 million sorties. F16 fighter jets are the mainstay of operations between European NATO countries, with over 700 aircraft in EU countries’ operations to secure their airspace and contribute to cover NATO peacekeeping operations.
But for months now, the F16 is slowly moving into another phase, at least in the US, but also in NATO, because some countries are replacing it with another creation of Lockhead Martin, the super modern F-35 fighter jets.
