F-16 Viper: cutting-edge fighter

The F-16 Viper, an advanced iteration of the iconic F-16 Fighting Falcon, boasts cutting-edge fifth-generation capabilities and structural enhancements that have significantly extended its operational lifespan. With features shared with newer aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor and the F-13 Lightning, the Block 70/72 model is expected to remain in service well into the 2060s.

Equipped with Northrop Grumman’s state-of-the-art APG-83 AESA radar, the Block 70/72 possesses 5th-generation fighter radar capabilities, harnessing hardware and software commonality with F-22 and F-35 AESA radars. This radar system offers enhanced situational awareness, flexibility, and all-weather targeting, providing pilots with unprecedented target area detail and customizable digital map displays with slew and zoom features.

Incorporating a newly developed, high-resolution Centre Pedestal Display (CPD), Block 70/72 delivers critical tactical imagery to pilots, enabling them to fully utilize AESA and targeting pod data. The new CPD supports colour-moving maps, larger and more manageable air-to-air Situation Displays, and zoom functionality, enhancing pilot situational awareness and warfighter survivability through the integration of the Lockheed Martin Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod and Legion-ES™ IRST system.

Unveiled at the Singapore Air Show in February 2012, the F-16V is available as a new production aircraft and offers upgrade components for existing F-16 versions. Notably, Lockheed Martin received a $1.85 billion contract from the US Government to upgrade 145 Block 20 F-16A/B aircraft for the Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Force in October 2012, based on the F-16 Viper version.

The F-16V's advanced glass cockpit integrates an upgraded mission computer and state-of-the-art avionics, including colour multi-function displays, a large high-resolution centre pedestal display, a helmet-mounted cueing system, and a high-volume, high-speed data bus. The single, high-performance, modular mission computer replaces the three original computers, and the gigabit ethernet-based architecture enables control of electronic warfare (EW) displays and avionics systems.

Additionally, precision GPS navigation and an automated ground collision avoidance system are incorporated, alongside the Martin-Baker US18E ejection seat, designed to offer fifth-generation escape performance. The F-16V can be equipped with a range of air-to-air missiles and supports the integration of various other missiles and bombs.

Further enhancing the capabilities of the Viper fighter, L3Harris introduced the AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield, an advanced all-digital EW suite specifically tailored for integration into the baseline configuration of F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft in partnership with Lockheed Martin, designed to enhance the survivability and mission success of the aircraft.

Powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 or a General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofan engine, the F-16 Viper achieves a maximum speed of Mach 2 and a range of 1,740 nautical miles.

Regarding orders and deliveries, the US Air Force (USAF) awarded Lockheed Martin a foreign military sales (FMS) contract to upgrade 134 F-16 aircraft to the F-16V configuration in November 2016. The F-16 Viper has garnered significant interest from various countries, with orders and deliveries reported in Bahrain, Bulgaria, the Philippines, and Greece, among others.

The Block 70/72 features advanced avionics, a proven Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, a modernized cockpit with new safety features, advanced weapons, conformal fuel tanks, an improved performance engine, and an extended structural service life of 12,000 hours.

Following the successful completion of the US congressional process approving the sale of F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Türkiye, defence firm Lockheed Martin expressed excitement about the opportunity to collaborate once again with its Turkish counterparts on the Block 70 series of jets.

"As we look at the global demand, we continue to see, for instance, Türkiye. We're very excited about the opportunity that has recently opened with our two nations agreeing and congressionally notifying Türkiye," OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager of Lockheed’s integrated fighter group, said in an interview with Anadolu.

"With Türkiye, we're now in that phase where our teams are getting to the final stages of the FMS (foreign military sales) process. And we're looking forward to hopefully concluding that very soon, and then talking about how we deliver that capability in Türkiye. And we'll continue to do that as long as there's strong demand for the F-16, which we see certainly in this next decade continuing around the globe," he said.

On Jan. 26, the US State Department approved the $23 billion sale of F-16 aircraft and modernization kits to Türkiye after getting the green light for Sweden’s NATO membership from Türkiye – itself a NATO member for over 70 years. Türkiye in October 2021 requested from the US 40 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft as well as 79 modernization kits to upgrade its remaining F-16s to Block 70 level.

Türkiye also received a draft offer and letter of acceptance from the US on the procurement of the new jets in February, according to the Turkish National Defence Ministry.

Sanchez's remarks came as the defence company celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the F-16.

Though Türkiye currently has Block 30, 40, 50, and 50+ series aircraft, the Block 70s are the most advanced fourth-generation fighter aircraft ever produced, said Sanchez.

"Part of the reason why the F-16 has been able to endure is just this tremendous versatility. It's a proven platform that has delivered security results for partners and allies, while at the same time adapting to the modern 21st-century threats that we see today, as well as the way we need to present ourselves as partners and allies and as security constructs. So the F-16 does that exceptionally well. And we've stayed committed as a company to ensuring it does that both now and into the future," Sanchez said.

Deliveries of Block 70/72 began in 2019 with the first upgrade kits delivered to the Republic of China. The first built Block 70 for Bahrain flew in January of 2023.