Hobby Master HA3809 | F16C Barak "Exercise Blue Wings 2020" No.536, 101 Squadron, Israeli AF IAF, West Germany, 17th August 2020

The F-16 Fighting Falcon was produced by General Dynamics who became Lockheed who then merged with Martin Marietta to become Lockheed Martin. The F-16 entered service in January 1979 as a multi-role jet fighter that evolved into an all-weather multi-role aircraft capable of sustaining 9-g turns. The F-16 is relatively inexpensive to purchase and maintain so the U.S. and 25 other countries added it to their inventory. The Fighting Falcon is referred to by its pilots as the “Viper” and will remain in USAF service until 2025.

Israel holds an annual event called “Blue Flag”, a multi-national exercise uniting aviation teams from other countries to learn and share ideas and procedures plus build international relations. The German Luftwaffe participated in “Exercise Blue Flag” in 2017 and 2019 so they decided to host a similar event called “Exercise Blue Wings 2020”. On August 17, 2020 the IAF sent 6 F-16 Barak fighters from 101 and 105 Squadrons based at Hatzor to the German base at Norvenich. F-16C U.S. 90-0868 IAF 536 was delivered in December 1992.

General specifications F-16 Fighting Falcon
Primary Function – Multi-role fighter
Manufacturer – General Dynamics Corp. / Lockheed Martin Corp.
Initial Unit cost - F-16C/D, $20 million plus
First Deployed - January 1979 (F-16A)
Crew – 1 x F-16C / 1 or 2 x F-16D

Power Plant - F-16C/D
1 x Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-200/220/229
or
1 x General Electric F110-GE-100/129
Thrust - F-16C/D / 27,000 lb   (12,150 kg)

Performance
Speed - 1,500 mph   (Mach 2 @ altitude)
Ceiling - Above 50,000 ft   (15 km)
Maximum Takeoff Weight - 37,500 lb   (16,875 kg)
Range - Greater than 2,425 mi   (2,100 nm / 3,900 km)
Combat Radius F-16C
851.6 mi   (1,370 km / 740 nm) w/ 2 x 2,000 lb bombs + 2 x AIM-9 + 1,040 U.S. gal external
tanks
391.3 mi   (630 km / 340 nm) w/ 4 x 2,000 lb bombs + 2 x AIM-9 + 340 U.S. gal external
tanks
230.2 mi   (370 km / 200 nm) + 2 hr. 10 min. patrol w/ 2 x AIM-7 + 2 x AIM-9 + 1,040 lb U.S.
gal external tanks

Dimensions
Length - 49 ft, 5 in   (14.8 m)
Height - 16 ft   (4.8 m)
Wingspan - 32 ft, 8 in   (9.8 m)

Armament
1 x M-61A1 20mm multi-barrel cannon with 500 rounds
External stations can carry up to six air-to-air missiles
Conventional air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions
Electronic countermeasure pods.