VOV.VN – The F-16V is considered by military experts to be one of the world’s leading 4++ generation fighters.
Born to make multi-purpose aircraft
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter manufactured by General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, born of a program to find a light, single-pilot, single-engine fighter aircraft for the Air Force. US forces in the early 1970s. It has become a successful multi-role fighter with more than 4,500 aircraft built since 1976, alongside the F-15 “Eagle” fighter. Flexibility and low cost are the main advantages that bring success to the F-16 in the export market to 25 countries.
The F-16 has a bubble-shaped glass cockpit with absolutely no “blind spots”, a convenient control bar position for operations in high gravity conditions, and a 30-degree tilted seat to help reduce the effect of gravity on the pilot. labour. This is also the first fighter aircraft to have an anti-rotational gravity design, one of the few jet aircraft with a thrust-to-weight ratio greater than one, thus allowing for very high acceleration. Good. Although not retrofitted, the F-16 still plays an important role in the US Air Force today and in the near future and is still built for export.The F-16 has a length of 15m, wingspan: 9.96m, combat radius when carrying full weapons is 550km, flight range is about 4,200km when carrying an auxiliary fuel tank. Although it only has one engine, the plane can reach speeds above Mach 2 and reach an altitude of 15,240m/min – with good interception capabilities. This fighter is equipped with 11 pylons to carry weapons of all kinds such as air-to-air, air-to-ground, air-to-sea missiles, many other types of smart guided bombs, and a 20mm 6-barreled Gatling gun with a 20mm caliber engine. 511 rounds of ammunition for close-range aerial combat. Although it is a light fighter, the F-16’s weapon load is up to 7.7 tons, exceeding even the Russian heavy fighter Su-27, nearly equal to the Su-35 (8 tons).
The F-16 participated in the campaign (1991) when the F-16’s multi-mission capabilities were demonstrated by completely crippling Iraq’s air defense network from radar destruction to interception, followed by patrolling areas “No flying” in this country. Later, the F-16 was used by the coalition in the war in the Balkans and in air strikes against Yugoslavia. Countries purchasing the F-16 also integrate specialized equipment for specific tasks such as electronic jamming devices (ECM), guidance devices, sensors, etc. to ensure the F-16 continues to exist. present in the air combat environment with increasingly high requirements.
Easily update weapons
According to Lockheed Martin, the core technology that powers the Viper lies in the AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar (the range is twice as long as the AN/APG-68’s 296 km). on the F-16C/D Block 60), allowing target detection and classification with high accuracy, along with advanced avionics systems. In addition, electronic beams transmitted on many different frequencies will make it very difficult for the enemy to detect and implement jamming measures, allowing aircraft to secretly launch attacks at a safe distance. .
In addition to being able to carry all types of the most advanced missiles and bombs, the F-16V Viper is also equipped with Sniper shooting support equipment, automatically detects and tracks targets and provides GPS coordinates to guide the target. offensive weapons. Pilots are also equipped with a helmet-mounted aiming system, increasing the combat capabilities of the AIM-9X heat-seeking missile. Most of the electromechanical equipment in the F-16V’s cockpit has been replaced by a multi-function display. The aircraft interacts with the F-35 and F-22 via a special data link. specifically, managed by a new generation central computer system.
In addition to being able to use more than 180 different types of weapons, the open-architecture avionics system allows the F-16V to easily update non-US-made weapons, making it one of the world’s leading combat aircraft. The most flexible match in the world. Taiwan’s F-16 Viper also has another notable feature – enhanced stealth thanks to the HAVE GLASS II (RAM) radar coating that reduces the radar reflection area by 20 – 30% – a technology high-end is only shared by the US with a few close allies.
The F-16V is considered by military experts to be one of the world’s leading 4++ generation fighters, with combat capabilities not inferior to fighters such as the Swedish JAS 39E/F or the Eurofighter Typhoon. of Europe. It is considered to be on par with the Russian Su-35 fighter in some aspects, and even the F-16V’s beyond-visual-range air combat capabilities are rated higher thanks to being equipped with radar that can detect targets. target at a distance of more than 400km./.
