F-16C Fighting Falcon

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F-16C Fighting Falcon - Multirole Fighter -

F-16C Image #2 F-16C Image #3

ORIGIN: (Real World) United States of America

GAMES FEATURED IN: Ace Combat (Air Combat) Ace Combat 2 Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

OPERATORS: Aurelian Air Force Belkan Air Force Emmerian Air Force Erusean Air Force Estovakian Air Force Independent State Allied Forces Leasath Air Force Osean Air Defense Force Special Tactical Fighter Squadron "Scarface" Terrorist Air Force Usean Rebel Force Ustian Air Force Yuktobanian Air Force

ACE SQUADRONS/PILOT: Bill / STFS (AC) Tallman / URF (AC2) Metal Sphere / URF (AC2) Tempel / FEAF (AC4) Trinker / BAF (ACZ) Crow Team / UAF (ACZ) Silber Squadron / BAF (ACZ) Ice / LAF (ACX)

VARIANTS: F-16C Block 60 F-16XL F-2A

WEAPONS: Gun / 1x 20mm M61A1 Vulcan Cannon Standard Missiles / AIM-9M Sidewinder LAGM / AGM-88 HARM (ACZ/ACX) RCL / LAU-69 Rocket Pods (ACX/AC6) UGBL / Mk-84 (ACZ) UGBM / Mk-83 (AC5/AC6) UGBS / Mk-82 (AC04) XAGM / AGM-65G Maverick (AC04) XMAA / AIM-120 AMRAAM (ACZ/ACX/AC6)

AIR COMBAT STATS: Stability: 10 Defense: 10 Offense: 50 Power: 100 Mobility: 90

ACE COMBAT 2 STATS: Power: 70 Defense: 35 Mobility: 45 Stability: 65 Climbing Ability: 55 Air-to-Air: 60 Air-to-Ground: 60

ACE COMBAT 5 STATS: Speed: 73 Mobility: 44 Stability: 46 Defense: 46 Air-to-Air: 30 Air-to-Ground: 55

ACE COMBAT ZERO STATS: Speed: 73 Mobility: 44 Stability: 46 Defense: 46 Air-to-Air: 30 Air-to-Ground: 55

BIO: Genesis of the successful F-16 fighter/attack aircraft lies in reaction to severe deficiencies in US fighter design revealed by the Vietnam War. Following the success of the small, highly maneuverable F-86 day fighter in the Korean War, US fighter design changed to emphasize maximum speed, altitude, and radar capability at the expense of maneuverability, pilot vision, and other attributes needed for close combat. This trend reached its extremity in the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, which was the principal fighter for both the US Air Force and Navy during the latter part of the Vietnam War.

The Air Force establishment wanted no part of a new small fighter, with or without radar. It was regarded as a threat to the F-15, which was USAF's highest priority program. But the Fighter Mafia gained considerable resonance in Congress and within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In 1971 Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard began a Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program to explore the concept.The LWF was to be about 20,000 pounds, or half the weight of the F-15, and was to stress low cost, small size, and very high performance at speed below Mach 1.6 and altitude below 40,000 feet. Two competing designs would be chosen for prototyping.

Of the two surviving designs, now designated the General Dynamics YF-16 and the Northrop YF-17., the YF-17 was a relatively conventional design, to some extent an outgrowth of the F-5, while the YF-16 was an all-new design incorporating highly innovative technologies that in many respects reached beyond those of the more expensive F-15. The competing Northrop YF-17 design was somewhat larger than the YF-16, and used two smaller pure jet engines. At the price of reduced range and persistence, the YF-17 avoided the main problem of the YF-16's turbofan: the inertia of the large fan required too long - in some cases six seconds - to spool up from idle to full power. In other respects, the YF-17 progressed better than expected, given its initial last place position.

Northrop argued that its twin-engine design added an essential safety factor, citing its experience with the small twin-engine F-5 fighter as an example. USAF did not find this persuasive, in part because a two engine plane with one engine out is useless in combat, and the probability of an engine failure was nominally twice as high with two engines as with one. The higher performance, better transient maneuverability, longer range, and lower cost of the YF-16 carried the day, and in 1976 the F-16 was chosen over the F-17.

SOURCES: Ace Combat Series (In Game Data) ACES.Web