A remarkable anniversary in the history of Lockheed Martin’s F-16 programme will be marked on 20 January, exactly 50 years after a prototype of the lightweight fighter got airborne for the first time.
Our recently published extensive report into the milestone tells the story behind General Dynamics test pilot Phil Oestricher’s unscheduled outing from Edwards AFB in the YF-16, the programme’s official first flight on 2 February 1974, and the single-engined type’s evolution into the world’s most widely-flown fighter. Click here to read the full article.
To coincide with the 50th anniversary event, this gallery of images highlights some of the additional notable events, unusual F-16 variants, and leading operators of the US airframer’s evergreen fighter, as it continues to enjoy production success for multiple customers.
European Defence Editor Craig Hoyle has reported on the UK, European and international military aviation sector for almost 30 years, and has also been the Editor of Flight International since 2015. He joined FlightGlobal in 2003, and also compiles our annual World Air Forces directory.View full Profile
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