Northrop Grumman photo via Erik Simonsen the Air Force F-15 and Navy F-14 were being devel- oped in the early 1970s, their performance—especially their speed and radar detection range—was unprec- edented, and so was their price. Congress shuddered at the idea of such expensive machines being the fighter mainstays of the two services and directed the Air Force to explore less costly aircraft that could complement the F-15 and, later, the F-14. From that challenge eventually grew two of the most successful fighter pro- grams in history, each now in service nearly 40 years: the F-16 and the F/A-18. Both have already achieved a combined production of more than 6,000 airframes. The Air Force’s Prototype Program Office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, It was the General launched the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program in January 1972. The request for Dynamics YF-16 proposals specified a highly maneuver- able fighter, with emphasis on reduced versus the Northrop weight and cost. This was to be a technol- YF-17. ogy exploration; the LWF program didn’t commit to production, but to add some

Left: A prototype of Northrop’s YF-17 offer- ing, the Cobra, would go on to become the Navy’s F/A-18. Below: General Dynamics’ prototype YF-16. The design would become the Air Force’s F-16.

By Erik Simonsen

Lockheed Martin photo

FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM 59 cost realism, USAF set a flyaway price from the successful development of one side-mounted control stick and a head-up goal of $3 million per aircraft in 1972 of the LWF prototypes. The LWF/ACF display that presented flight information dollars, based on a notional production program results would also fit DOD’s such that the pilot wouldn’t have to run of 300 aircraft at a rate of 100 a year. new strategy of a high-low fighter mix look down into the cockpit and would The whole structure was an answer to for the Air Force and Navy. potentially never take his eyes off the Congress’ insistence on a fly-before-buy target. The pilot’s seat would be reclined acquisition approach. AN ICONIC CONFIGURATION 30 degrees to help him absorb heavy Contractors were given considerable Although the F-16 design has evolved G forces, and the large bubble canopy latitude in their offerings—remarkable in in many ways, its original configuration offered nearly 360 degrees of visibility. an era when the Pentagon had a reputa- remains iconic. It combines a host of Although explored piecemeal in other tion for overspecifying solutions. Un- advanced technologies that had never aircraft types, as a package in the YF-16, like previous competitive fly-offs, each been incorporated in previous operational these innovations offered unprecedented company would conduct an independent, fighters. To ensure success, the YF-16 agility and situational awareness. The one-year test program beginning with design team utilized a secret weapon in YF-16 conformed to the LWF strategy, their design’s first flight. the talent of Harry J. Hillaker, who be- weighing 14,023 pounds, equipped with Five major contractors competed for came the deputy chief engineer. Hillaker two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. the LWF. They were Boeing, General was a member of the renowned “Fighter The first YF-16 rolled out of the Dynamics, Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), Mafia” group of aeronautical experts General Dynamics plant at Fort Worth, Lockheed, and Northrop. and was later referred to as “the father” Texas, on Dec. 13, 1973, its unique, In April 1972 the Air Force picked of the F-16. futuristic shape accentuated by a color- its two finalists. General Dynamics and Hillaker’s career began in 1941 at ful red, white, and blue color scheme. Northrop would each build two proto- Consolidated Aircraft Corp. (later Con- Media coverage was extensive, fostering types of their designs, called, respectively, vair) with the conceptual design of the intense interest in the new lightweight the YF-16 and YF-17. B-36 Peacemaker. He also influenced the generation of fighters. Both companies took full advantage of design of the supersonic B-58 Hustler The airplane was eager; an unplanned the freedom to innovate, producing two and the variable-geometry wing F-111 first flight occurred on Jan. 20, 1974. divergent and unconventional configura- Aardvark. General Dynamics test pilot Phil F. Oest­ tions. General Dynamics came up with a The YF-16 was an entirely new animal, richer was making a high-speed taxi test blended airframe featuring a single engine with blended-fuselage variable-camber at Edwards AFB, Calif., when the YF-16 and a bubble canopy offering unparalleled wings and forebody strakes that provided lifted off the runway, with the right hori- visibility to the pilot. Northrop’s design additional lift. The wingspan was 32 feet zontal stabilizer scraping the runway’s was a two-engine, twin-tail concept with 10 inches with a length of 49 feet six surface. Quickly reacting, Oestricher a large leading edge extension suggesting inches. It would use the Pratt & Whitney increased thrust and continued the takeoff a hooded cobra—hence its name Cobra. F100 engine being used on the F-15. A rather than aborting. The unexpected In an attempt to reverse persistent fly-by-wire system would provide excel- flight lasted about six minutes and the cost increases for complex multimission lent response, simplify the electronics jet landed without incident. The YF-16 fighters, in April 1974, Defense Secretary systems, and eliminate heavier hydraulic intentionally flew for the first time on Feb. James R. Schlesinger ordered the services assemblies. Fly-by-wire controls allowed The two Lightweight Fighter offerings carry to explore a low-cost Air Combat Fighter, for an aircraft inherently unstable to have AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles near Edwards saying the ACF could possibly emerge increased agility. The YF-16 featured a AFB, Calif., in December 1972.

USAF photo via Erik Simonsen

60 FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM Two F-16s and two F-106s fly in formation. The F-16 was chosen by the Air Force to replace aging F-106 interceptors and F-4 multirole fighters.

2. Oestricher flew a flawless 90-minute sortie, cycling the gear and reaching 30,000 feet with an airspeed of 345 mph. The side-control stick performed well through three-axis maneuvers and turns limited to three Gs at 15,000 feet. Low-speed handling characteristics were tested at an equivalent altitude with the landing gear down. During the debrief, Oestricher said the jet was responsive, and acceleration to maximum planned speed “was ac- complished very quickly.” He praised the “outstanding visibility” afforded by the USAF photo single-piece canopy, something he said will “impress all fighter pilots.” of over 12,500 20 mm rounds from the then in development, made a fairly good After General Dynamics’ company M61 Vulcan cannon. Live testing of the match to the LWF specifications and pilots put the YF-16 through its basic AIM-9 Sidewinder and Mk 84 bomb gave Northrop a head start. Company paces, USAF pilots began their evalua- drops had been conducted, and air-to-air leaders planned to pursue the LWF tions. Eventually, test pilot groups were tactics and air combat maneuvering had contract while marketing the P530 in rotated between the competing YF-16 been flown against contemporary fighters the international arena. Refining the and YF-17. Their detailed reports on such as the F-4E Phantom II. design to make an even better LWF technical and performance merits would One tweak made after the evaluations match, Northrop designers came up drive the Air Force’s final decision on the was to the side-stick controller. Its force- with P600. Though Northrop marketed winning contractor. sensing mechanism offered the pilot no the P600 aggressively, it earned no In November 1974, about a month movement, thus preventing a true feel sales. Eventually, the best attributes before the competition’s conclusion, for the flight controls. Eventually, it was of the P600 were incorporated into the the two YF-16s had amassed 376 flight modified with a little “give” to resolve YF-17 prototype. hours, including 12 hours at supersonic the problem. The 56-foot-long YF-17 featured an speed, up to Mach 2. The jets topped When the LWF program got under- aerodynamically curved wing with a out at just over 60,000 feet. Aerial gun- way, Northrop was already well along span of 35 feet and twin vertical tails nery with towed targets and strafing on with a potential successor to its success- canted outward. The wing and fuselage the Edwards range resulted in the firing ful F-5 export fighter. Its P530 Cobra, were joined by leading edge extensions

USAF F-16 pilots prepare for takeoff on the flight line at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, in November. The F-16 has been in service for almost 40 years.

USAF photo by SSgt. Kenneth W. Norman

FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM 61 (LEXs) that essentially doubled the Chouteau was at the controls and flew During the Pentagon press confer- main wing lifting capability and served the jet for 61 minutes. During the flight ence, McLucas said the flight test to channel air directly into the intakes the YF-17 reached 610 mph at an altitude program on the two types of jets during high angle-of-attack maneuver- of 18,000 feet. During the debrief an “went extremely well,” and he said ing. Features transferred from the P600 enthusiastic Chouteau remarked, “When there were “significant differences in included a two-dimensional fixed ramp our designers said that in the YF-17 they the performance of these prototypes.” inlet replacing the fixed cone inlet. The were going to give the airplane back to The YF-16, he said, had performance twin General Electric YJ101-GE-100 the pilot, they meant it. It’s a fighter advantages over the YF-17 in “agility, engines were rated at 15,000 pounds pilot’s fighter.” Two days later, on June in acceleration, in turn rate, and endur- of thrust each in afterburner. The LEX 11, Chouteau flew the YF-17 to Mach ance.” The YF-16 “met all performance contour was further refined according 1 in level flight at 30,000 feet without goals that we had established for it.” to the area rule, and the wing area was afterburner—a technique later to be The Air Force statement was intended reduced to 350 square feet to improve known as supercruise. to confirm a clear winner. However, transonic/supersonic performance. The By December 1974 the No. 1 proto- Northrop’s loss of the LWF didn’t spell overall jet weighed 23,000 pounds. type had logged more than 185 hours the end of the Cobra. The Navy had a Northrop rolled its futuristic YF-17 during 159 flights, and the second preference for twin-engine aircraft for Cobra out of its Hawthorne, Calif., plant prototype about 91 hours during 71 carrier operations, to offer pilots a better on April 4, 1974. Describing the com- test flights. Nine hours of supersonic chance to recover an aircraft if an engine pany’s accomplishments producing the flight time had been accrued, up to was out. The Navy was already consider- low-cost T-38 Talon, F-5A/B Freedom and exceeding Mach 2. YF-17 No. ing a lightweight fighter to complement Fighter, and the F-5E Tiger II, Northrop 1 verified the flight-control system, the larger and more complex Grumman President Thomas V. Jones remarked, stability testing, and 20 mm cannon F-14 Tomcat in a high-low mix. “These aircraft demonstrate the suc- firing, while No. 2 was flown to 100 The new program was dubbed VFAX cessful 20-year evolution of Northrop’s percent of design air loads, with the and the resulting jet would replace Navy/ application of technology to design General Electric YJ101-GE-100 per- Marine Corps F-4 Phantoms, F-8 Crusad- advanced fighters at a cost which has forming exceptionally throughout all ers, and A-7 Corsair IIs. permitted procurement of the aircraft in flight parameters. Although several contractors were necessary quantities.” The Air Force wrapped up its flight working on proposals that fit naval evaluations of both competitors by late aircraft carrier requirements, Congress A FIGHTER PILOT’S FIGHTER 1974, and on Jan. 13, 1975, Air Force The sleek YF-17, in overall silver paint, Secretary John L. McLucas announced Two F-16s over the coast of southern first flew on June 9, 1974, at Edwards. that the General Dynamics YF-16 was Florida on their way to a deployment at NAS Key West, Fla., to train with Navy Northrop Chief Test Pilot Henry E. the winner. F/A-18 pilots.

USAF photo by TSgt. Jeffrey Allen

62 FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM USN photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan T. Beard

unexpectedly opted to reduce procure- it had chosen the F-17 variant as its new An F/A-18F Super Hornet taxis across the ment costs and redundancy and canceled lightweight fighter. flight deck of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on a deployment for Operation Inherent VFAX. In Congress’ view, the YF-16/ The F-17 then evolved into the F/A- Resolve in November. The Super Hornet YF-17 LWF/ACF competition would 18A, the F/A designation coined by the first flew in 1995. yield a suitable aircraft. McDonnell Douglas/Northrop team to Northrop entered discussions with suggest a multirole fighter/attack aircraft. was officially named the Fighting Falcon, McDonnell Douglas, a contractor with Though it looked much like the YF-17 but pilots preferred the name “Viper” extensive experience building carrier from a distance, the new jet was beefier, (borrowed from fighter spacecraft in the aircraft. Under an agreement between the with bigger engines, a bigger nose, “Battlestar Galactica” TV show popular two companies, the YF-17 evolved into a fatter LEX, sawtooth wing leading at the time), and it stuck, unofficially. the NACF (Navy Air Combat Fighter), edges, different intake geometry, heavier Meanwhile, the Navy/Marine Corps a jointly developed air combat fighter landing gear, and of course, an arresting procured the F/A-18. Navy Secretary for the Navy. McDonnell Douglas hook system. William Graham Claytor Jr. bestowed would become the prime contractor Though a planned “F-18L” land-based the name Hornet on the type in March to offer an aircraft to meet NACF version didn’t sell and never entered pro- 1977. With McDonnell Douglas test requirements. Northrop, meanwhile, duction, F/A-18As were sold to foreign pilot Jack E. Krings in the cockpit, the would be a partner on the NACF and air forces for land-based operations. No. 1 F/A -18A made its official maiden the leader on a ground-based YF-17 The General Dynamics F-16 transi- flight on Nov. 18, 1978. The type was variant to be offered to NATO nations tioned from the prototype aircraft to a later upgraded with new avionics and and other allies. full-scale development (FSD) production other changes that prompted production At the same time, General Dynamics aircraft. The Fort Worth production line Hornets to be designated F/A-18C and D teamed with Vought (LTV) to navalize was configured to produce the first eight (for one- and two-seat versions). the YF-16. The YF-16’s single engine FSD F-16As. During operational test, The F-16 design proved so iconic and was an issue, and other factors such early FSD F-16As with black radomes versatile that it spawned an extensive as reduced landing approach speed were quickly detected at great distances number of variants. and strengthened fuselage/landing gear by Aggressor pilots during dogfights. After being damaged in a landing ac- all required modifications and added Subsequently, all F-16 radomes were cident on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards, weight. coated with specially formulated gray the No. 3 F-16 was modified with a Both General Dynamics and Northrop paint to blend with the two-tone gray two-seat cockpit and reconfigured with a presented NACF proposals to the Navy. camouflage applied to the fleet. cranked-arrow delta wing. Redesignated In General Dynamics’ case, it offered The first F-16A Block 1 (serial No. 78- F-16XL, and joined by a single-seat three separate variations of its naval- 0001) was flown at Fort Worth in August version converted from the No. 5 jet, ized F-16. 1978 and was delivered to the Air Force the new configuration competed with during the same month. Initial operational the F-15E Strike Eagle in the 1981 Air THE US NAVY AND BEYOND capability (IOC) was declared on Oct. 1, Force Enhanced Tactical Fighter (ETF) On May 2, 1975, the Navy announced 1980. A rapidly paced program, the F-16 competition. The F-15E won that contest.

FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM 63 A United Arab Emirates F-16E takes off from NAS JB Fort Worth, Texas. The UAE operates some of the world’s most Photo by David Raykovitz advanced F-16s. With a trapezoidal wing, the F-16XL and the F/A-18F was a two-seater with company merged with Martin Marietta, was later resurrected as the Falcon 21 a weapon systems officer in back. The it became Lockheed Martin in 1995. for an F-16 upgrade program that didn’t Super Hornet was a dramatic upgrade, McDonnell Douglas’s merger with materialize. with a 25 percent increase in wing area, Boeing in 1996 gave Boeing a heavy In 1978 the sixth FSD aircraft was a Multifunctional Information Distribu- fighter presence with the F-15 and converted into the Advanced Fighter tion System (MIDS), APG-73 advanced F/A-18. Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16 radar, and Advanced Targeting Forward More than 4,570 F-16 multirole testbed. The AFTI investigated several Looking Infrared (ATFLIR). The pilot fighters in blocks 10 through 60 have new ideas, including electric actuator was equipped with the Joint Helmet been produced for some 30 countries, technologies that would be used on the Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). It and more than 1,550 Hornets and Super future F-35. allows pointing weapons without turning Hornets have been built, along with more In 1984, General Dynamics offered the aircraft. In addition, large trapezoidal than 100 EA-18G Growler electronic the Agile Falcon variant, featuring a 25 intakes infused with radar-absorbing attack variants. percent increase in wing area and an in- technology fed two uprated General Lockheed Martin continues to up- novative technology infusion. It was later Electric F414-GE-400 engines generating grade the F-16 for all its customers. proposed as a lower-cost alternative to the 22,000 pounds of thrust each. The Super The latest F-16V took to the air in Advanced Tactical Fighter program, but Hornet offered a 40 percent increase in October 2015. This variant features a when USAF rejected the idea, the Agile range and loiter time versus the earlier fifth generation APG-83 active elec- Falcon’s technology was adapted and later version. The first Super Hornet was tronically scanned array fire-control incorporated into Japan’s Mitsubishi/ delivered in December 1998, and IOC radar, advanced mission architecture, Lockheed Martin F-2 fighter. was achieved in September 2001. and numerous cockpit improvements. After the Navy’s failure with the A-12 The LWF’s evolution into the ACF Together, the YF-16 and YF-17 cre- Advanced Technical Aircraft stealth at- for the Air Force, and the NACF for ated the fourth generation of fighter tack plane in 1991, the service needed the Navy, was truly exceptional. In a aircraft that today are the most numerous a quick way to populate its flight decks 1990 article written for the Society of examples of the class. The Lightweight with a credible strike platform. The Experimental Test Pilots, Northrop test Fighter competition gave rise to two service decided the fastest way to do the pilot Paul Metz stated, “Both Northrop winning aircraft designs that have each job—and save a lot of money on ground and General Dynamics were asked to created an extraordinary legacy. J gear, spares, and training—was to grow build a new fighter unconstrained by the Hornet into a larger aircraft with more conventional design criteria while using weapons-carrying ability, longer range, existing technology,” and in that “the Erik Simonsen is a freelance photogra- and better sensors. LWF program was successful.” pher and writer. His previous article for Through various mergers and ac- Air Force Magazine, “F-108 Rapier,” MERGERS AND UPGRADES quisitions the contractors’ names have appeared in September 2014. His latest book is Complete History of US Thus was born the Super Hornet. changed. General Dynamics sold its Combat Aircraft Fly-Off Competitions: It first flew in November 1995. The Fort Worth military aircraft division Winners, Losers, and What Might F/A-18E was the single-seat version, to Lockheed in 1993, and when the Have Been.

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