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Some nights, sitting at a table in a hotel restaurant 17 stories above the Bodø quay, you may see what looks like a spark rise from the Norwegian coast and fly off into the night. Another follows, then both wink out in the distance. They are F-16s from the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) stationed here in Bodø [pronounced “BO-deh”], either on a training flight or scrambled to intercept an aerial visitor, probably a Russian one, skirting Norwegian airspace. Though the conversation around the restaurant is mostly in Norwegian, you also hear diners chatting in English, a good deal of...

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Test pilots and engineers from the 416th Flight Test Squadron had the chance to meet face-to-face with one of the squadron’s success stories Aug. 25. The group met with an allied nation pilot trainee who returned home alive after he experienced a g-force-induced loss of consciousness and his F-16’s Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System activated, executing a ground-avoidance maneuver, just as the system was designed to do. The 416th tested and proved the F-16’s Auto GCAS. The pilot, whose call sign is Ocho, and his instructor pilot came to Edwards at NASA’s request. Both...

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – Six people at the U.S. Air National Guard’s 177th Fighter Wing were taken to the hospital as a precaution Thursday after being exposed to a chemical released from a fighter plane’s emergency power system. Master Sgt. Andrew J. Moseley said the accident happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday when personnel were working on the F-16’s Emergency Power Unit, which as its name suggests provides electrical and hydraulic power to the aircraft if the engines shut down. The six people were taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Mainland Campus, as a precaution because of possible exposure to a...

This year is special when it comes to the relationship between the Viper and the Polish Air Force since it has been 10 years since Poland has acquired this slick airframe, significantly modernizing the inventory which remains at disposal of the military aviation units. The anniversary provides an interesting opportunity to sum up the history of the relationship between the Lockheed’s jet and the Polish Air Force. Within the Polish Air Force, the F-16 “Jastrząb” (Jastrząb – Northern goshawk – is the Polish name for the F-16 jet) is being used for a variety of missions, including air-superiority, close air...

Even though the USAF has shuttered the 65th AGRS based out of Nellis AFB, its only F-15C/D aggressor squadron, our friends at Combat Aircraft Monthly say a new F-16 unit is slated to be activated at the base. This new unit will be made up of eight Block 40 F-16C/Ds, with the squadron envisioned to grow to 16 aircraft as the F-35 comes on line and replaces the Viper in front-line units. The F-16s' mission will reportedly be tightly focused on close air support. Combat Aircraft writes: “The CAS Integration Group’s mission will include high-end training as well as an...

In 2007, India began an official tender process for 126 multi-role, medium-range combat aircraft (MMRCA) with Paris-based Dassault at a cost of about $11 billion. It was the world’s largest fighter jet deal at the time. Since then the deal has unraveled. Negotiations stalled over price and quality and, ultimately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opted to purchase only 36 “ready to fly” aircraft from Dassault. Even this more modest version of deal has yet to fully fructify. Since the original bid, the Modi government has added a “made in India” component as part of all future acquisitions. Amidst the French...

A New York Times newspaper article describes a beleaguered American fighter program enduring delays, escalating costs, and technical problems. Another article about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter no doubt, right? Nope. It's an article from 1977 about the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The F-16 was the original multinational fighter. Developed by the United States with Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway as partners, the fighter was designed to be an agile, lightweight, daytime fighter to replace aging fighters such as the F-5 Freedom Fighter and the F-104 Starfighter. At $6,091,000 per unit—$27.1 million when adjusted for inflation—it was also supposed to...

Local news reporting a Thunderbird crashed and the pilot safely ejected.

Thunderbird jet crashed Thursday after a flyover of the academy's commencement, which was attended by President Obama, the US Air Force said.

Pakistan failed to move forward with the purchase of eight U.S.-made F-16C/D Block-52 fighter aircraft following a dispute over financing, Dawn reported on May 28. According to an unidentified source Pakistan failed to provide a so-called Letter of Acceptance for the procurement of the eight fighter jets by May 24 and the offer expired. “Pakistan decided not to fully fund the case with national funds, so the terms of sale have now expired,” the source told Dawn. U.S. lawmakers have been blocking financing for the eight F-16s under the so-called Foreign Military Financing (FMF), with the result that Pakistan would...

US House blocks aid to duplicitous Pakistan The US House of Representatives' decision to incorporate stringent requirements for the release of American aid to Pakistan, even in the face of opposition from the White House, is indicative of a gradual change of heart in Washington, DC, towards what was once its frontline ally in the war on terror. It comes days after the US Congress objected to the sale of American F-16s, which have little value in fighting insurgents but help Pakistan build parity with India. This is not to suggest that the US is anywhere close to changing its...

The US will no longer subsidise the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, a senior state department official has told the BBC. The decision means that Pakistan will have to pay more than $700m (£480m) - two-and-a-half times the original cost - if it wishes to buy the aircraft. It comes after Congress refused to approve funding for the deal. Some US lawmakers had accused Pakistan of not doing enough to fight militants. India also objected to the sale. However, Pakistan has argued that the jets are needed for anti-terror operations, and so the US should help with...

On the 45th anniversary of the F-16 lightweight fighter’s first flight, Lockheed Martin faces the very real prospect of turning off "Fighting Falcon" production as prospective customers like Pakistan struggle to clear the US government’s regulatory and funding processes. After assembling more than 4,500 F-16s in almost 140 different configurations, the Fort Worth, Texas production line is thawing from hot to lukewarm and could go cold by “about the end of 2017” after Lockheed delivers the remaining seven of 36 Iraqi F-16IQs. Iraqi F-16IQ US Air Force Lockheed’s F-16 programme chief Susan Ouzts said this week that several countries have...

A Norwegian fighter pilot has published a soft rebuttal to a damaging critique leaked last summer about the Lockheed Martin F-35A’s dogfighting prowess, contradicting many of the critical points made in the scathing review written by a Lockheed test pilot. Royal Norwegian Air Force Maj Morten “Dolby” Hanche, a US Navy test pilot school graduate with 2,200 flight hours in Lockheed F-16s, has flown several mock dogfights from Luke AFB in Arizona since becoming the nation’s first F-35 pilot last November. These have yet to advance to performing "dissimilar" training against other aircraft types. In a blog post on Norway’s...

South Africa’s reputation as top gun when it comes to air power in the southern African region could be shot down by Angola and its powerful new Russian fighters. The west African country is set to take delivery of the first tranche of Sukhoi Su-30K fighters in the next six months and will have 12 in service by the end of next year. Gauteng Afrikaans daily Beeld approached military analyst Helmoed Heitman, retired SAAF and Indian Air Force pilot colonel Rama Iyer and a former officer commanding 2 Squadron for their views on how the SA Air Force’s (SAAF) Gripens...

Washington: The Obama administration on Friday notified the US Congress of its decision to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan worth nearly $700 million. Upset with the decision, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said,"We are disappointed at the decision of the Obama Administration to notify the sale of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan." He also said that India disagrees with the rationale of the US that such arms transfers help to combat terrorism. The MEA will summon US ambassador to convey India's displeasure over the decision of the Obama government. Despite mounting opposition from influential lawmakers from both...

The Congress has recently blocked the White House-approved sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. The deal is viewed to have no relevance to Pakistan’s war against terror besides being used in offensives against India, Washington’s recent ally with a staunch lobby. Last March, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs blocked sale of cutter vessels worth $150 million to the Pakistan Navy on the same pretext. Defense purchases from the US have rarely been upfront commercial transactions. The White House never shies away from taking political and diplomatic mileage, thereof. High performance Despite its plan to induct at...

Forty-two years ago on this day, General Dynamics test pilot Phil Oestricher undertook the YF-16 prototype’s first flight during what was supposed to be a high-speed taxi test at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Oestricher’s so-called “Flight Zero” was completely unplanned and unexpected, but provided extremely valuable data for the development of what eventually became the U.S. Air Force’s mainstay F-16 Fighting Falcon. Oestricher—who passed away on Dec. 18, 2015—said that the flight test plan was to go down the runway pushing the aircraft up to 135 knots, lifting the jet no more than about two feet above the ground....

The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) on Monday rolled out the 16th Block 2 JF-17 aircraft and formally handed it over to the Pakistan Air force (PAF). A target of producing sixteen JF-17 Thunder jets was given to the complex, said the spokesperson, adding it has now been decided to expand the production capacity of the PAC Kamra. Meanwhile, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman said Pakistan is in negotiations with the United States to procure the latest F-16 fighter jets, but did not specify an exact number, Express News reported. “We are in talks with US defence...

The U.S. Air Force might buy 72 upgraded F-15, F-16 or even F-18 fighter aircraft due to low F-35 production rates and the high cost of the F-35. The U.S. Air Force “is struggling to afford 48 F-35s a year” for the first years of full-rate production a senior Air Force officer told Aerospace Daily & Defense Report. Full rate-production is slated to begin in 2019 and the U.S. Air Force wants to buy 60 planes in 2020, and 80 F-35 per year after that. This year, the Air Force is to receive 28 F-35s, whereas in 2016 the number...