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Operational history
Due to their ubiquity, F-16s have participated in numerous conflicts, most of them in the Middle East.
First combat successes: Bekaa Valley and Osiraq raid (1981)
The F-16’s first air-to-air combat success was achieved by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) over the Bekaa Valley on 28 April 1981 against a Syrian Mi-8 helicopter, which was downed with cannon fire following an unsuccessful attempt with an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile (AAM). A year later, on 9 June 1982, during the initial air battle of the 1982 Lebanon War, the IAF achieved the first F-16 "kill" of another fighter with a successful AAM shoot-down of a Syrian MiG-21.[70]
On 7 June 1981, eight Israeli F-16s, escorted by F-15s, executed Operation Opera, their first employment in a significant air-to-ground operation. This raid severely damaged Osiraq, an Iraqi nuclear reactor under construction near Baghdad, to prevent the regime of Saddam Hussein from using the reactor for the creation of nuclear weapons.[71]
Operation Peace for Galilee (1982)
The following year, during Operation Peace for Galilee (Lebanon War) Israeli F-16s engaged Syrian aircraft in one of the largest air battles involving jet aircraft, which began on 9 June and continued for two more days. At the end of the conflict, the Israeli Air Force credited their F-16s with 44 air-to-air kills, mostly of MiG-21s and MiG-23s, and claim to have suffered no air-to-air losses of their own.[70][72] F-16s were also used in their ground-attack role for strikes against targets in Lebanon.
Incidents during the Soviet-Afghan War (1986-1988)
During the Soviet-Afghan war, Pakistan Air Force Between May 1986 and January 1989, PAF F-16s shot down at least ten intruders from Afghanistan. Four of the kills were Afghan Su-22s bombers, three were Afghan transports (two An-26s and one An-24), and one was a Soviet Su-25 bomber. Most of these kills were achieved using the AIM-9 Sidewinder, but a Su-22 was destroyed by cannon fire and the one An-24 crash landed after being forced to land upon interception.[73]
Afghanistan claimed to have shot down one Pakistani F-16A during an encounter on 29 April 1987; the pilot ejected safely and landed in Pakistani territory. Pakistani authorities admitted to having lost a fighter jet to enemy fighters, but suggested that it may have been either an F-16 or an F-6 and insisted it was attacked over Pakistani territory.[74] Subsequently, Pakistani officials confirmed that the loss was an F-16, but asserted it was accidentally shot down in a friendly fire incident during a dogfight with enemy aircraft over Pakistani territory. According to this claim, Flight Lieutenant Shahid Sikandar Khan’s F-16 was hit by an AIM-9 missile fired by another F-16 piloted by Squadron Leader Amjad Javed.[75]
Operation Desert Storm (1991)
In Operation Desert Storm of 1991, 249 USAF F-16s flew 13,340 sorties in strikes against Iraq, the most of any Coalition aircraft, with three were lost in combat, of which two to hostile surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and one to anti-aircraft artillery. Other F-16s were damaged in accidents and by hostile ground fire but were able to return to base and be repaired.[76][77]
Interwar Air Operations over Iraq (1991-2003)
From the end of Desert Storm until the invasion of Iraq in 2003, USAF F-16s patrolled the Iraqi no-fly zones. Two air-to-air victories were scored by USAF F-16s in Operation Southern Watch.[78] On 27 December 1992, a USAF F-16D shot down an Iraqi MiG-25 in UN-restricted airspace over southern Iraq with an AIM-120 AMRAAM; this was the first USAF F-16 kill since the F-16 was introduced; and was also the first AMRAAM kill.[79] On 17 January 1993, a USAF F-16C destroyed an Iraqi MiG-23 with an AMRAAM missile for the second USAF F-16 victory.[80]
F-16s returned to Iraq in December 1998 as part of the Operation Desert Fox bombing campaign to "degrade" Iraq's ability to manufacture and use weapons of mass destruction.[81]
Venezuelan coup attempt (1992)
On 27 November 1992, two Venezuelan F-16s took part in the November Venezuelan Coup Attempt on the side of the government. In particular, the two F-16As strafed targets on the ground and shot down two OV-10 Broncos with AIM-9Ps and one AT-27 Tucano with cannon fire as these rebel-flown aircraft attacked loyalist army positions.[82]
Balkans (1994-1995 and 1999)
F-16s were also employed by NATO during Bosnian peacekeeping operations in 1994-95 in ground-attack missions and enforcing the no-fly-zone over Bosnia (Operation Deny Flight). On 28 February 1994, 4 J-21 and 2 IJ-21 Jastrebs and 2 J-22 Oraos had violated the no-fly-zone to conduct a bombing run. The pilots of the 2 J-22s spotted the F-16s above them and after their attack, they left the area in low-level flight towards Croatia, where the U.S. jets could not follow; one of these[citation needed] later crashed due to lack of fuel. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was engaged and attacked, first by 2 USAF F-16Cs, which scored three kills. The remaining J-21 was taken out by a different pair of USAF F-16Cs. Of the six Yugoslavian jets engaged, four were shot down (one by AMRAAM and the others by Sidewinders).[83][84] On 2 June 1995, one F-16C was lost to a Serb 2K12 Kub SAM (NATO reporting name: SA-6 'Gainful') while on patrol over Bosnia. Its pilot ejected and was later rescued by a USMC CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter on 8 June.[85]
NATO F-16s also participated in air strikes against Serbian forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Operation Deliberate Force in August-September 1995, and again in Operation Allied Force over Yugoslavia from March-June 1999. During Allied Force, F-16s also achieved one or two aerial victories: one by a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16AM, which shot down a Yugoslavian MiG-29 with an AMRAAM, and possibly another by a USAF F-16C which fired two AMRAAMs at a Yugoslavian MiG-29. However, in the latter case, the Serbs claimed to have subsequently found fragments of a 9K32M Strela-2M NATO designation: SA-7b ‘Grail’ Mod 1) MANPAD in the wreckage of this MiG-29, suggesting it was mistakenly downed by Serbian infantry.[86]
On 2 May 1999, a USAF F-16CG was lost over Serbia. It was shot down by an S-125 Pechora SAM (NATO: SA-3 ‘Goa’
near Nakucani. Its pilot managed to eject and was later rescued by a combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) mission.[87][88] The remains of this aircraft are on display in the Yugoslav Aeronautical Museum, Belgrade International Airport.
Aegean incidents (1996 and 2006)
On 10 October 1996, during an air-to-air confrontation in disputed airspace over the Aegean Sea, a Greek Mirage 2000 is reported to have accidentally fired an R550 Magic and shot down a Turkish F-16D, which the Turkish government claims was on a training mission in international air space north of the Greek island of Samos, close to the Turkish mainland. The Turkish pilot died, while the co-pilot ejected and was rescued by Greek forces.[89][90] While the Turkish government admits the loss, the Greek government officially denies the shootdown occurred.[91]
On 23 May 2006, two Greek F-16 Block 52+ jets were scrambled to intercept a Turkish RF-4 reconnaissance aircraft and its two F-16 escorts off the coast of the island of Karpathos. A mock dogfight ensued between the two sides’ F-16s, which ended in a midair collision between a Turkish F-16 and a Greek F-16. The Turkish pilot ejected safely after his jet was destroyed, but the Greek pilot was killed when his canopy and cockpit were destroyed during the collision.[92]
Kargil War (1999)
During the 1999 Kargil War, Indian Air Force MiG-29s provided fighter escort for Mirage 2000s dropping laser-guided bombs (LGBs) on targets. IAF MiG-29s armed with Vympel R-77 (NATO: AA-12 'Adder') beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missiles, were able to lock on to PAF F-16s. Since Pakistani F-16 aircraft were not equipped with BVR missiles at that time, they were forced to disengage. As a result, the PAF restricted itself to flying combat air patrols over Pakistani territory. The IAF was able to deliver strikes on Pakistani positions in India without threat from PAF interceptors.[93]
Operations in Afghanistan (2001-date)
F-16s have been used by the United States in Afghanistan since 2001. In 2002, a tri-national detachment known as the European Participating Air Forces (Danish, Dutch and Norwegian) of 18 F-16s in the ground attack role deployed to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Since April 2005, eight Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16s, joined by four Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s in February 2006, have been supporting International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) ground troops the southern provinces of Afghanistan. The detachment is known as the 1st Netherlands-Norwegian European Participating Forces Expeditionary Air Wing (1 NLD/NOR EEAW).[94]
Invasion of Iraq and post-war operations (2003-date)
US F-16s participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the only loss suffered over Iraq during this phase was an F-16CG of the 388th Fighter Wing’s 421st Fighter Squadron that crashed near Baghdad on 12 June 2003 when it ran out of fuel.[95]
A US Army MIM-104 Patriot SAM fire-control radar was damaged on 25 March 2003 following a hit by an AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile (ARM) fired from an USAF F-16C on a patrol over southern Iraq, when the radar established a lock-on onto the fighter.[96]
On June 7, 2006, two USAF F-16s dropped two 500 lb (230 kg) guided bombs (one GBU-12 Paveway LGB and one GBU-38 GPS-guided “smart” bomb) destroying an al-Qaeda safehouse, killing Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[97]
An F-16CG crashed near Fallujah on 27 November 2006 while on a low-altitude ground-strafing run; although under fire, according to the official USAF report, the apparent cause was due to flying into the ground while attempting to maintain visual identification of targeted enemy vehicles. The pilot, Major Troy Gilbert, was killed.[98][99]
Two other F-16s were lost in Iraq to separate accidents a month apart, on 15 June and 15 July 2007.[100][101]
Second Lebanon War (2006)
Israeli F-16s, the bomber workhorse of the Israel Defense Forces, participated in the 2006 Lebanon War. The only reported F-16 loss was an IDF F-16I that crashed on July 19 when one of its tires burst as it took off for Lebanon from an air base in the Negev. The pilots ejected safely and there were no casualties on the ground.[102]
Operation Sun (2008)
Turkish built F-16s with LANTIRN belonging to the 181st Squadron (Pars Filo) of the Turkish Air Force, took part in the bombing of PKK Terrorist infraustructure located in Northern Iraq during Operation Sun.[citation needed]
http://www.answers.com/topic/f-16-fighting-falcon#Operational_history
Due to their ubiquity, F-16s have participated in numerous conflicts, most of them in the Middle East.
First combat successes: Bekaa Valley and Osiraq raid (1981)
The F-16’s first air-to-air combat success was achieved by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) over the Bekaa Valley on 28 April 1981 against a Syrian Mi-8 helicopter, which was downed with cannon fire following an unsuccessful attempt with an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile (AAM). A year later, on 9 June 1982, during the initial air battle of the 1982 Lebanon War, the IAF achieved the first F-16 "kill" of another fighter with a successful AAM shoot-down of a Syrian MiG-21.[70]
On 7 June 1981, eight Israeli F-16s, escorted by F-15s, executed Operation Opera, their first employment in a significant air-to-ground operation. This raid severely damaged Osiraq, an Iraqi nuclear reactor under construction near Baghdad, to prevent the regime of Saddam Hussein from using the reactor for the creation of nuclear weapons.[71]
Operation Peace for Galilee (1982)
The following year, during Operation Peace for Galilee (Lebanon War) Israeli F-16s engaged Syrian aircraft in one of the largest air battles involving jet aircraft, which began on 9 June and continued for two more days. At the end of the conflict, the Israeli Air Force credited their F-16s with 44 air-to-air kills, mostly of MiG-21s and MiG-23s, and claim to have suffered no air-to-air losses of their own.[70][72] F-16s were also used in their ground-attack role for strikes against targets in Lebanon.
Incidents during the Soviet-Afghan War (1986-1988)
During the Soviet-Afghan war, Pakistan Air Force Between May 1986 and January 1989, PAF F-16s shot down at least ten intruders from Afghanistan. Four of the kills were Afghan Su-22s bombers, three were Afghan transports (two An-26s and one An-24), and one was a Soviet Su-25 bomber. Most of these kills were achieved using the AIM-9 Sidewinder, but a Su-22 was destroyed by cannon fire and the one An-24 crash landed after being forced to land upon interception.[73]
Afghanistan claimed to have shot down one Pakistani F-16A during an encounter on 29 April 1987; the pilot ejected safely and landed in Pakistani territory. Pakistani authorities admitted to having lost a fighter jet to enemy fighters, but suggested that it may have been either an F-16 or an F-6 and insisted it was attacked over Pakistani territory.[74] Subsequently, Pakistani officials confirmed that the loss was an F-16, but asserted it was accidentally shot down in a friendly fire incident during a dogfight with enemy aircraft over Pakistani territory. According to this claim, Flight Lieutenant Shahid Sikandar Khan’s F-16 was hit by an AIM-9 missile fired by another F-16 piloted by Squadron Leader Amjad Javed.[75]
Operation Desert Storm (1991)
In Operation Desert Storm of 1991, 249 USAF F-16s flew 13,340 sorties in strikes against Iraq, the most of any Coalition aircraft, with three were lost in combat, of which two to hostile surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and one to anti-aircraft artillery. Other F-16s were damaged in accidents and by hostile ground fire but were able to return to base and be repaired.[76][77]
Interwar Air Operations over Iraq (1991-2003)
From the end of Desert Storm until the invasion of Iraq in 2003, USAF F-16s patrolled the Iraqi no-fly zones. Two air-to-air victories were scored by USAF F-16s in Operation Southern Watch.[78] On 27 December 1992, a USAF F-16D shot down an Iraqi MiG-25 in UN-restricted airspace over southern Iraq with an AIM-120 AMRAAM; this was the first USAF F-16 kill since the F-16 was introduced; and was also the first AMRAAM kill.[79] On 17 January 1993, a USAF F-16C destroyed an Iraqi MiG-23 with an AMRAAM missile for the second USAF F-16 victory.[80]
F-16s returned to Iraq in December 1998 as part of the Operation Desert Fox bombing campaign to "degrade" Iraq's ability to manufacture and use weapons of mass destruction.[81]
Venezuelan coup attempt (1992)
On 27 November 1992, two Venezuelan F-16s took part in the November Venezuelan Coup Attempt on the side of the government. In particular, the two F-16As strafed targets on the ground and shot down two OV-10 Broncos with AIM-9Ps and one AT-27 Tucano with cannon fire as these rebel-flown aircraft attacked loyalist army positions.[82]
Balkans (1994-1995 and 1999)
F-16s were also employed by NATO during Bosnian peacekeeping operations in 1994-95 in ground-attack missions and enforcing the no-fly-zone over Bosnia (Operation Deny Flight). On 28 February 1994, 4 J-21 and 2 IJ-21 Jastrebs and 2 J-22 Oraos had violated the no-fly-zone to conduct a bombing run. The pilots of the 2 J-22s spotted the F-16s above them and after their attack, they left the area in low-level flight towards Croatia, where the U.S. jets could not follow; one of these[citation needed] later crashed due to lack of fuel. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was engaged and attacked, first by 2 USAF F-16Cs, which scored three kills. The remaining J-21 was taken out by a different pair of USAF F-16Cs. Of the six Yugoslavian jets engaged, four were shot down (one by AMRAAM and the others by Sidewinders).[83][84] On 2 June 1995, one F-16C was lost to a Serb 2K12 Kub SAM (NATO reporting name: SA-6 'Gainful') while on patrol over Bosnia. Its pilot ejected and was later rescued by a USMC CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter on 8 June.[85]
NATO F-16s also participated in air strikes against Serbian forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Operation Deliberate Force in August-September 1995, and again in Operation Allied Force over Yugoslavia from March-June 1999. During Allied Force, F-16s also achieved one or two aerial victories: one by a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16AM, which shot down a Yugoslavian MiG-29 with an AMRAAM, and possibly another by a USAF F-16C which fired two AMRAAMs at a Yugoslavian MiG-29. However, in the latter case, the Serbs claimed to have subsequently found fragments of a 9K32M Strela-2M NATO designation: SA-7b ‘Grail’ Mod 1) MANPAD in the wreckage of this MiG-29, suggesting it was mistakenly downed by Serbian infantry.[86]
On 2 May 1999, a USAF F-16CG was lost over Serbia. It was shot down by an S-125 Pechora SAM (NATO: SA-3 ‘Goa’
near Nakucani. Its pilot managed to eject and was later rescued by a combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) mission.[87][88] The remains of this aircraft are on display in the Yugoslav Aeronautical Museum, Belgrade International Airport.Aegean incidents (1996 and 2006)
On 10 October 1996, during an air-to-air confrontation in disputed airspace over the Aegean Sea, a Greek Mirage 2000 is reported to have accidentally fired an R550 Magic and shot down a Turkish F-16D, which the Turkish government claims was on a training mission in international air space north of the Greek island of Samos, close to the Turkish mainland. The Turkish pilot died, while the co-pilot ejected and was rescued by Greek forces.[89][90] While the Turkish government admits the loss, the Greek government officially denies the shootdown occurred.[91]
On 23 May 2006, two Greek F-16 Block 52+ jets were scrambled to intercept a Turkish RF-4 reconnaissance aircraft and its two F-16 escorts off the coast of the island of Karpathos. A mock dogfight ensued between the two sides’ F-16s, which ended in a midair collision between a Turkish F-16 and a Greek F-16. The Turkish pilot ejected safely after his jet was destroyed, but the Greek pilot was killed when his canopy and cockpit were destroyed during the collision.[92]
Kargil War (1999)
During the 1999 Kargil War, Indian Air Force MiG-29s provided fighter escort for Mirage 2000s dropping laser-guided bombs (LGBs) on targets. IAF MiG-29s armed with Vympel R-77 (NATO: AA-12 'Adder') beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missiles, were able to lock on to PAF F-16s. Since Pakistani F-16 aircraft were not equipped with BVR missiles at that time, they were forced to disengage. As a result, the PAF restricted itself to flying combat air patrols over Pakistani territory. The IAF was able to deliver strikes on Pakistani positions in India without threat from PAF interceptors.[93]
Operations in Afghanistan (2001-date)
F-16s have been used by the United States in Afghanistan since 2001. In 2002, a tri-national detachment known as the European Participating Air Forces (Danish, Dutch and Norwegian) of 18 F-16s in the ground attack role deployed to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Since April 2005, eight Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16s, joined by four Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s in February 2006, have been supporting International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) ground troops the southern provinces of Afghanistan. The detachment is known as the 1st Netherlands-Norwegian European Participating Forces Expeditionary Air Wing (1 NLD/NOR EEAW).[94]
Invasion of Iraq and post-war operations (2003-date)
US F-16s participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the only loss suffered over Iraq during this phase was an F-16CG of the 388th Fighter Wing’s 421st Fighter Squadron that crashed near Baghdad on 12 June 2003 when it ran out of fuel.[95]
A US Army MIM-104 Patriot SAM fire-control radar was damaged on 25 March 2003 following a hit by an AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile (ARM) fired from an USAF F-16C on a patrol over southern Iraq, when the radar established a lock-on onto the fighter.[96]
On June 7, 2006, two USAF F-16s dropped two 500 lb (230 kg) guided bombs (one GBU-12 Paveway LGB and one GBU-38 GPS-guided “smart” bomb) destroying an al-Qaeda safehouse, killing Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[97]
An F-16CG crashed near Fallujah on 27 November 2006 while on a low-altitude ground-strafing run; although under fire, according to the official USAF report, the apparent cause was due to flying into the ground while attempting to maintain visual identification of targeted enemy vehicles. The pilot, Major Troy Gilbert, was killed.[98][99]
Two other F-16s were lost in Iraq to separate accidents a month apart, on 15 June and 15 July 2007.[100][101]
Second Lebanon War (2006)
Israeli F-16s, the bomber workhorse of the Israel Defense Forces, participated in the 2006 Lebanon War. The only reported F-16 loss was an IDF F-16I that crashed on July 19 when one of its tires burst as it took off for Lebanon from an air base in the Negev. The pilots ejected safely and there were no casualties on the ground.[102]
Operation Sun (2008)
Turkish built F-16s with LANTIRN belonging to the 181st Squadron (Pars Filo) of the Turkish Air Force, took part in the bombing of PKK Terrorist infraustructure located in Northern Iraq during Operation Sun.[citation needed]
http://www.answers.com/topic/f-16-fighting-falcon#Operational_history
