F-16 Block 15MLU/50/52 Fighter
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ejaz007
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Four more F-16s to join PAF soon
Thursday, July 17, 2008
By Hanif Khalid
ISLAMABAD: Four more F-16 fighter aircraft will join the Pakistan Air Force on July 28, 2008. For this purpose, a ceremony for handing over of the planes to the Pakistan Air Force will be held at the PAF Base Mushaf on Saturday.
The four F-16 planes, which are going to be handed over to Pakistan in the last week of the current month, have been upgraded and modified to the extent that they will perform just like new F-16s.
Last month, the Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations), Air Marshal Rao Qamar Suleiman, had received four Fighting Falcons from Lt Gen Gary L North, Commander 9th Air Force, and the USAF Central Command while four were received last year. These refurbished F-16s have the same operational capability as of those already possessed by the PAF and will significantly augment its combat capability.
Meanwhile, state-of-the-art JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft will be inducted as regular squadron of the Pakistan Air Force by the end of the current year. The small batch production of the JF-17 Thunder multi-role aircraft is in progress both in China and the Kamra Aeronautical Complex. Pakistan Air Force is in the process of completing the testing and evaluation of aircraft jointly produced by Pakistan and China. After completion of the evaluation, the new aircraft will be certified by international monitors to become operational in the air forces of the world.
Serial production of the JF-17 Thunder will also start in Pakistan soon. In the first phase 40%, in the second 60%, in the third phase 80% and in the last phase 100% JF-17 Thunder warplanes will be built at the Kamra Aeronautical Complex. Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tanveer Mehmood, is personally supervising the task of inducting new platforms in the PAF.
Four more F-16s to join PAF soon
Thursday, July 17, 2008
By Hanif Khalid
ISLAMABAD: Four more F-16 fighter aircraft will join the Pakistan Air Force on July 28, 2008. For this purpose, a ceremony for handing over of the planes to the Pakistan Air Force will be held at the PAF Base Mushaf on Saturday.
The four F-16 planes, which are going to be handed over to Pakistan in the last week of the current month, have been upgraded and modified to the extent that they will perform just like new F-16s.
Last month, the Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations), Air Marshal Rao Qamar Suleiman, had received four Fighting Falcons from Lt Gen Gary L North, Commander 9th Air Force, and the USAF Central Command while four were received last year. These refurbished F-16s have the same operational capability as of those already possessed by the PAF and will significantly augment its combat capability.
Meanwhile, state-of-the-art JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft will be inducted as regular squadron of the Pakistan Air Force by the end of the current year. The small batch production of the JF-17 Thunder multi-role aircraft is in progress both in China and the Kamra Aeronautical Complex. Pakistan Air Force is in the process of completing the testing and evaluation of aircraft jointly produced by Pakistan and China. After completion of the evaluation, the new aircraft will be certified by international monitors to become operational in the air forces of the world.
Serial production of the JF-17 Thunder will also start in Pakistan soon. In the first phase 40%, in the second 60%, in the third phase 80% and in the last phase 100% JF-17 Thunder warplanes will be built at the Kamra Aeronautical Complex. Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tanveer Mehmood, is personally supervising the task of inducting new platforms in the PAF.
Four more F-16s to join PAF soon
fatman17
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good news on the F-16 side but i am not sure i completely agree with the writer on the JF-17 news.
fatman17
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F-16 Fighting Falcon, F16, or Viper?
F-16 Featured Articles By Stefaan Vanhastel
Introduction
Ever wondered about the origin of the name "F-16 Fighting Falcon"? Or is it F-16 Viper? And what is wrong with F16? This article provides a short overview of the official designation and names for the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and some of the commonly used nicknames.
F-16 Fighting Falcon, not F16 Fighting Falcon
The US Tri-Service Designation System for aircraft defines a standard notation for aircraft models. In its basic form, it consists of:
a capital letter denoting the basic mission (e.g. 'F' for fighter, 'A' for attack)
a mandatory dash '-'
the design number (e.g. 14, 15, 16, 117, 130)
According to this standard, F-16 is the only correct designation for the Fighting Falcon. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for (non-aviation) publications to incorrectly use F16 Fighting Falcon or even f16 Fighting Falcon.
The name "Fighting Falcon"
USAF F-16A block 10 #79-0290 at the Naming Ceremony at Hill AFB, Utah wearing a large 'Fighting Falcon' badge behind the cockpit. The U.S. Air Force officially named the F-16 "Fighting Falcon" on July 21st, 1980, during a ceremony at Hill AFB in Utah (the home of the first F-16 unit). At the ceremony F-16A #79-0290 sported a special logo painted by Salt Lake City artists Matt and Mark Waki.
Four years earlier, in 1976, the Department of the Air Force had organized a "Name-the-Plane Contest" for the F-16 at MacDill AFB in Florida. The winning entry was submitted by TSgt. Joseph A. Kurdell, the Photo Sensor Shop Supervisor for the 1st TFW A&E sqn.
On May 11th, 1976, TSgt. Kurdell received an official letter from the Department of the Air Force, congratulating him for submitting the prize-winning entry in the "Name-the-Plane Contest", winning him a free dinner at the MacDill NCO Mess.
TSgt. Joseph Kurdell explains where he got the inspiration for the name:
"Prior to being stationed at MacDill AFB, Tampa, Florida and after a short tour in Korea, I was teaching at the Photographic Engineering School at Lowery Air Force Base in Colorado.
Being in the vicinity of the Air Force Academy, my family and I used to visit there quite often especially during their football seasons. As you probably know the Falcon (the bird species) is the school mascot, so this is where I got the idea from when given the opportunity to name an aircraft. "
The name "Fighting Falcon" also helped distinguish the F-16 from the "Falcon" series of business jets from French manufacturer Dassault.
General Dynamics F-16 became Lockheed Martin F-16
In the early 90's the Lockheed Company acquired the Fort Worth Division of the General Dynamics Corporation, thus the right to produce and sell the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
Lockheed then merged with Martin Marietta in the middle 90's to make Lockheed Martin, or Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (a.k.a. LMTAS). So that's why the General Dynamics F-16 became the Lockheed Martin F-16 or LMTAS F-16. Nowadays it's simply referred to as LM (Lockheed-Martin).
Viper: the unofficial nickname
The F-16 is often referred to as the "Viper", a nickname especially popular with people involved with the F-16. Before "Fighting Falcon" was selected as official name, pilots at Hill AFB, the first F-16 base, came up with a number of proposals, including "Viper". Lt. Col. Pat "Gums" McAdoo, USAF Ret., one of the first F-16 pilots at Hill AFB, recalls the origin of the name "F-16 Viper":
At end of runway, the F-16 did resemble a cobra or something as it approached you. However, I think Northrop had already taken that name for the YF-17.
We all voted, and Viper came in really high. Seems there was a series on TV that had 'colonial Vipers' flying off of Battlestar Galactica (a term later used for the Eagle).
In any case, the Generals didn't want a plane 'named after some snake'!
Falcon was a good name, and it fit in with the motif that the Eagle had created. Sort of a little brother, but still a 'Bird of Prey'. In fact, GD had a great promo out in late 70's called "Bird of Prey", and it used the Falcon as the real world model.
Even when F-16 Fighting Falcon became the official name, Viper stuck around and became the unofficial nickname for the F-16. The name "Viper" is even officially used for the Joe Bill Dreyden "Semper Viper" award, which is awarded for excellent airmanship by F-16 pilots.
Official International names
Although "Fighting Falcon" has been adopted as the official name for the F-16 by many international customers, some airforces have indigenous names for (specific variants of) the F-16:
Netz: or 'Hawk' - used by the Israeli Air Force for its F-16A/B aircraft.
Barak: or 'Lightning' - used by the Israeli Air Force for its F-16C/D (block 30 & 40) aircraft.
Sufa: or 'Storm' - used by the Israeli Air Force for its F-16I aircraft.
KF-16: Designation used by the RoKAF to denote the South Korean produced F-16s. Note that this designation does not follow the US Tri-Service designation system. The 'K' simply stands for Korea in this particular case.
Jastrzab: or 'Hawk' - used by the Polish Air Force for its F-16C/D block 52 aircraft.
Other nicknames
Of course the F-16 is also known by a variety of other, less commonly used, nicknames:
Electric Jet: Obvious nickname for the first fly-by-wire aircraft.
Lawn Dart: Caused by a higher number of mishaps experienced in the early years.
Midnight Falcon: "Marketing" name used by General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin for the F-16C to highlight its day/night all-weather capabilities.
Desert Falcon: "Marketing" name used by General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin for the F-16 block 60.
Sweet sixteen: No explanation needed.
F-16.net :: The Ultimate F-16 Reference
F-16 Featured Articles By Stefaan Vanhastel
Introduction
Ever wondered about the origin of the name "F-16 Fighting Falcon"? Or is it F-16 Viper? And what is wrong with F16? This article provides a short overview of the official designation and names for the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and some of the commonly used nicknames.
F-16 Fighting Falcon, not F16 Fighting Falcon
The US Tri-Service Designation System for aircraft defines a standard notation for aircraft models. In its basic form, it consists of:
a capital letter denoting the basic mission (e.g. 'F' for fighter, 'A' for attack)
a mandatory dash '-'
the design number (e.g. 14, 15, 16, 117, 130)
According to this standard, F-16 is the only correct designation for the Fighting Falcon. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for (non-aviation) publications to incorrectly use F16 Fighting Falcon or even f16 Fighting Falcon.
The name "Fighting Falcon"
USAF F-16A block 10 #79-0290 at the Naming Ceremony at Hill AFB, Utah wearing a large 'Fighting Falcon' badge behind the cockpit. The U.S. Air Force officially named the F-16 "Fighting Falcon" on July 21st, 1980, during a ceremony at Hill AFB in Utah (the home of the first F-16 unit). At the ceremony F-16A #79-0290 sported a special logo painted by Salt Lake City artists Matt and Mark Waki.
Four years earlier, in 1976, the Department of the Air Force had organized a "Name-the-Plane Contest" for the F-16 at MacDill AFB in Florida. The winning entry was submitted by TSgt. Joseph A. Kurdell, the Photo Sensor Shop Supervisor for the 1st TFW A&E sqn.
On May 11th, 1976, TSgt. Kurdell received an official letter from the Department of the Air Force, congratulating him for submitting the prize-winning entry in the "Name-the-Plane Contest", winning him a free dinner at the MacDill NCO Mess.
TSgt. Joseph Kurdell explains where he got the inspiration for the name:
"Prior to being stationed at MacDill AFB, Tampa, Florida and after a short tour in Korea, I was teaching at the Photographic Engineering School at Lowery Air Force Base in Colorado.
Being in the vicinity of the Air Force Academy, my family and I used to visit there quite often especially during their football seasons. As you probably know the Falcon (the bird species) is the school mascot, so this is where I got the idea from when given the opportunity to name an aircraft. "
The name "Fighting Falcon" also helped distinguish the F-16 from the "Falcon" series of business jets from French manufacturer Dassault.
General Dynamics F-16 became Lockheed Martin F-16
In the early 90's the Lockheed Company acquired the Fort Worth Division of the General Dynamics Corporation, thus the right to produce and sell the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
Lockheed then merged with Martin Marietta in the middle 90's to make Lockheed Martin, or Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (a.k.a. LMTAS). So that's why the General Dynamics F-16 became the Lockheed Martin F-16 or LMTAS F-16. Nowadays it's simply referred to as LM (Lockheed-Martin).
Viper: the unofficial nickname
The F-16 is often referred to as the "Viper", a nickname especially popular with people involved with the F-16. Before "Fighting Falcon" was selected as official name, pilots at Hill AFB, the first F-16 base, came up with a number of proposals, including "Viper". Lt. Col. Pat "Gums" McAdoo, USAF Ret., one of the first F-16 pilots at Hill AFB, recalls the origin of the name "F-16 Viper":
At end of runway, the F-16 did resemble a cobra or something as it approached you. However, I think Northrop had already taken that name for the YF-17.
We all voted, and Viper came in really high. Seems there was a series on TV that had 'colonial Vipers' flying off of Battlestar Galactica (a term later used for the Eagle).
In any case, the Generals didn't want a plane 'named after some snake'!
Falcon was a good name, and it fit in with the motif that the Eagle had created. Sort of a little brother, but still a 'Bird of Prey'. In fact, GD had a great promo out in late 70's called "Bird of Prey", and it used the Falcon as the real world model.
Even when F-16 Fighting Falcon became the official name, Viper stuck around and became the unofficial nickname for the F-16. The name "Viper" is even officially used for the Joe Bill Dreyden "Semper Viper" award, which is awarded for excellent airmanship by F-16 pilots.
Official International names
Although "Fighting Falcon" has been adopted as the official name for the F-16 by many international customers, some airforces have indigenous names for (specific variants of) the F-16:
Netz: or 'Hawk' - used by the Israeli Air Force for its F-16A/B aircraft.
Barak: or 'Lightning' - used by the Israeli Air Force for its F-16C/D (block 30 & 40) aircraft.
Sufa: or 'Storm' - used by the Israeli Air Force for its F-16I aircraft.
KF-16: Designation used by the RoKAF to denote the South Korean produced F-16s. Note that this designation does not follow the US Tri-Service designation system. The 'K' simply stands for Korea in this particular case.
Jastrzab: or 'Hawk' - used by the Polish Air Force for its F-16C/D block 52 aircraft.
Other nicknames
Of course the F-16 is also known by a variety of other, less commonly used, nicknames:
Electric Jet: Obvious nickname for the first fly-by-wire aircraft.
Lawn Dart: Caused by a higher number of mishaps experienced in the early years.
Midnight Falcon: "Marketing" name used by General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin for the F-16C to highlight its day/night all-weather capabilities.
Desert Falcon: "Marketing" name used by General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin for the F-16 block 60.
Sweet sixteen: No explanation needed.
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Cheetah786
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Handing Ceremony :
ISLAMABAD: Four more F-16 fighter aircraft will join the Pakistan Air Force on July 28, 2008. For this purpose, a ceremony for handing over of the planes to the Pakistan Air Force will be held at the PAF Base Mushaf on Saturday.
The four F-16 planes, which are going to be handed over to Pakistan in the last week of the current month, have been upgraded and modified to the extent that they will perform just like new F-16s.
Last month, the Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations), Air Marshal Rao Qamar Suleiman, had received four Fighting Falcons from Lt Gen Gary L North, Commander 9th Air Force, and the USAF Central Command while four were received last year. These refurbished F-16s have the same operational capability as of those already possessed by the PAF and will significantly augment its combat capability.
ISLAMABAD: Four more F-16 fighter aircraft will join the Pakistan Air Force on July 28, 2008. For this purpose, a ceremony for handing over of the planes to the Pakistan Air Force will be held at the PAF Base Mushaf on Saturday.
The four F-16 planes, which are going to be handed over to Pakistan in the last week of the current month, have been upgraded and modified to the extent that they will perform just like new F-16s.
Last month, the Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations), Air Marshal Rao Qamar Suleiman, had received four Fighting Falcons from Lt Gen Gary L North, Commander 9th Air Force, and the USAF Central Command while four were received last year. These refurbished F-16s have the same operational capability as of those already possessed by the PAF and will significantly augment its combat capability.
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http://www.defensenews.com/story.php...01&c=EUR&s=TOP
Lockheed Welcomes Retrofit Radars for F-16s
by tom kington
Published: 15 Jul 13:21 EDT (17:21 GMT)FARNBOROUGH, England - As the world's air forces continue to fly thousands of F-16s 30 years after the launch of the aircraft, an official at manufacturer Lockheed Martin has welcomed the unveiling this year of two active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for retrofitting in the fighter.
"Anything that adds value is a great thing," said John Larson, F-16 vice president at Lockheed. "We would love to see both of them become options," he added.
Larson said that F-16s as old as Block 25 aircraft, albeit after a midlife upgrade, would likely be able to be retrofitted with AESA radar.
Larson was speaking at the Farnborough Airshow a day after Raytheon launched its Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR). In February, Northrop Grumman showed its Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR). Both are designed to be fitted into F-16s by air forces that might have sought to buy new fighters in order to obtain AESA radar, which is faster and more capable than mechanically scanned radar.
Apart from retrofitting F-16s, Larson did not rule out the possibility of customers buying new F-16s being able to choose one of the two radars, "although we need to see where future developments end up," he added.
Currently, only the United Arab Emirates has purchased F-16s with AESA radar onboard, the APG-80. Larson said that the APG-80 had also been proposed for India, should it buy the aircraft.
Otherwise, customers who have recently ordered the aircraft, or are now taking delivery, have all ordered the mechanically scanned APG-68(V)9. They include Greece, Israel, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland and Turkey.
Northrop Grumman has said that its new AESA retrofit radar will be cheaper and less capable than the APG-80, but the same price as the APG-68(v)9.
__________________
Lockheed Welcomes Retrofit Radars for F-16s
by tom kington
Published: 15 Jul 13:21 EDT (17:21 GMT)FARNBOROUGH, England - As the world's air forces continue to fly thousands of F-16s 30 years after the launch of the aircraft, an official at manufacturer Lockheed Martin has welcomed the unveiling this year of two active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for retrofitting in the fighter.
"Anything that adds value is a great thing," said John Larson, F-16 vice president at Lockheed. "We would love to see both of them become options," he added.
Larson said that F-16s as old as Block 25 aircraft, albeit after a midlife upgrade, would likely be able to be retrofitted with AESA radar.
Larson was speaking at the Farnborough Airshow a day after Raytheon launched its Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR). In February, Northrop Grumman showed its Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR). Both are designed to be fitted into F-16s by air forces that might have sought to buy new fighters in order to obtain AESA radar, which is faster and more capable than mechanically scanned radar.
Apart from retrofitting F-16s, Larson did not rule out the possibility of customers buying new F-16s being able to choose one of the two radars, "although we need to see where future developments end up," he added.
Currently, only the United Arab Emirates has purchased F-16s with AESA radar onboard, the APG-80. Larson said that the APG-80 had also been proposed for India, should it buy the aircraft.
Otherwise, customers who have recently ordered the aircraft, or are now taking delivery, have all ordered the mechanically scanned APG-68(V)9. They include Greece, Israel, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland and Turkey.
Northrop Grumman has said that its new AESA retrofit radar will be cheaper and less capable than the APG-80, but the same price as the APG-68(v)9.
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IceCold
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Hmmm the radar is less capable then the APG-80, but certainly an AESA radar. It would be an interesting development If we go for this radar instead of APG-68 v9. I am amazed why hasn't Israel and Turkey opted for the APG-80 since they would no problem in acquiring them unlike us.
araz
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Ice cold.
As far as I remember, Israel wanted to install its own radar and avionics on their Soufas. they were not allowed to by the Americans. The other thing to note is that UAE has intelectual rights to APG 80 as they paid for the research that went into it. They would therefore have a say in who gets it and who does not. On record Pakistan AF decision was not to incorporate APG80 into block 52s because it would have required more research and money which PAF would have had to pay. PAF has(as per Pshamim of Pakdef.info fame) asked LM to consider incorporating AESA into the next batch which we may buy from them. I dont have any news of what has come out of it since then.
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Current Lockheed Martin F-16 Versions Are Most Advanced Multi-Role
Fighters Available TodayWEBWIRE – Wednesday, July 16, 2008
FARNBOROUGH, England.- The two versions of the F-16 being delivered to customers today are the most advanced multi-role fighter aircraft types currently available on the international market and are building on the F-16’s reputation for effectiveness and value, the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] vice president for the program said today.
“The F-16 continues as a modern, highly capable, affordable and supportable fighter. The program is healthy and full of activity, with firm production through 2012 and a strong likelihood of new orders that will extend the line for several more years,” said John Larson, vice president for F-16 programs, in remarks to reporters at the Farnborough Air Show.
Larson said there are current backorders for about 98 F-16 aircraft, plus a strong possibility Lockheed Martin will gain 200-400 further orders during the next few years.
Recent F-16 program milestones have included the 4,400th F-16 delivered for Poland and a recent contract for 24 new Advanced Block 52 F-16s for Morocco, the newest member of the F-16 family.
In addition to the F-16 production programs, Lockheed Martin continues to develop and integrate advanced technologies to upgrade programs for existing F-16 aircraft to ensure interoperability with the world’s only 5th Generation Fighters, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
“This integration of advanced technologies for fielded and new aircraft provides an opportunity for F-16 operators to benefit from the latest developments in technology and capabilities for fighter aircraft,” Larson said. “This technology will provide a natural bridge from 4th Generation of fighters to the 5th Generation.”
Aircraft now being produced for Poland, Israel, Greece and Pakistan are in the Advanced Block 50/52 F-16C/D configuration. The United Arab Emirates was the launch customer for the Block 60 F-16 version, which has the type designation – F-16E/F – and is the most sophisticated configuration of the F-16 produced to date.
Larson said both new versions have the latest technologies and capabilities – including AESA radar and around-the-clock, all-weather, standoff, autonomous, air intercept and precision strike. These aircraft have the latest in avionics, sensors and weapons, plus user-friendly cockpits and integrated systems that provide pilots with high situation awareness.
Both types have features that extend mission range, persistence and payload – including internal electronic countermeasures equipment and optional conformal fuel tanks. The aft cockpit of the two-place versions of both types serves either as a weapon system operator station or an instructor pilot station.
“Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force are totally committed to modification and sustainment of the worldwide F-16 fleet. We recognize that we have a serious obligation to support our customers in their missions, and we also recognize fleet sustainment as a growing business opportunity,” Larson said.
Cost may be one factor and secondly, LM may not be willing to pay for the cost of integrating APG-80 in a blk52 aircraft. Nobody wants to pay the cost of integration.
fatman17
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at this point in time i doubt very much as "fissures" are developing in the military-to-military relationship.
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IceCold
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So sir will the UAE have a say or were they ever contacted when the radar was offered to India?
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