f-16 Archives

This is the plane that almost beat out the legendary F-16

November 6, 2022

You may know Chuck Yeager as the man who broke the sound barrier, but back in the 1980s, he was also pitching a new fighter jet — one that arguably would have been on par with some of today’s fighters.

The official unofficial nicknames of 5 modern military aircraft

October 8, 2022

By Miguel Ortiz

The official language of the US military is English. But, to civilians, the military can seem to speak a completely foreign language. I’m not just talking about acronyms either. Words…

6 differences between the Air Force F-16 and the Navy’s F-18

September 25, 2022

By Harold C. Hutchison

The F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F/A-18 Hornet are both “lightweight” fighters. Each was intended to complement a larger, heavier fighter (the F-15 for the F-16, the F-14 for the F/A-18). But they also have some big differences. Let’s look over s…

The Air Force hired privately-owned F-16s to train its 5th-generation pilots

September 16, 2022

By Miguel Ortiz

The U.S. military trains its fighter pilots in air-to-air combat with aggressor squadrons. Using enemy tactics and flying American aircraft painted to mimic enemy aircraft, the American pilots in these…

An Air Force pilot used a commercial GPS system during the Iraq War

August 13, 2022

By Team Mighty

While flying an F-16 in the Iraq War, Air Force pilot Raj Shah had a multimillion-dollar global positioning system (GPS) at his disposal. While flying combat missions in 2006, he…

My husband’s mistress is an F-16

June 29, 2022

By Rachel Napolitano

Rachel is an Air Force spouse and Texas native whose husband flies as an F-16 pilot in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

It was October 2015 and Hurricane Joaquin was headed right for us. I stared out the back patio at the darkening…

Watch this F-16 pilot dodge six Iraqi surface-to-air missiles in Desert Storm

February 27, 2022

By Team Mighty

In the largest air strike of Desert Storm, 72 U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons took off from the Persian Gulf to refuel over northern Saudi Arabia. Their target was…

Here’s what it’s like dodging six missiles in an F-16

December 19, 2021

By Paul Szoldra

It was in the opening days of Operation Desert Storm on Jan. 19, 1991 when fighter jets were roaring through Iraqi airspace, and anti-aircraft crews were waiting for them with surface-to-air missiles (SAM). For Air Force Maj. ET Tullia, it was an un…

This stunning video shows why flying an F-16 fighter jet is pure joy

April 11, 2021

By Orvelin Valle

A YouTube video of Thunderbirds lead pilot Maj. Blaine “Deuce” Jones taking an F-16 for a joyride was just published, and it’s awesome.

The short, called “Fly Amongst The Solo Thunder – USAF Thunderbirds” begins with Jones and cre…

F-16XL: The F-16 with hardpoints for 27 weapons

March 24, 2021

By Sandboxx

For more than forty years, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has served as the backbone of the U.S. Air Force’s fighter fleet, but one year before the first F-16 entered service,…