[Squantos]

Where does the moniker Viper come from ? Always was a Falcon in my era.... I thought the Viper was the newest variant of the F16 ?

Been retired since 96 so please understand I’m just asking as to the name Viper ....a nickname maybe ??

..... thanks if ya have time.

Stay Safe JJ.

[smokingfrog]

The first F-16 pilots nicknamed it the Viper after the Battlestar Galactica fighter, but the name didn’t stick.

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[Jet Jaguar]

Squantos, The Viper moniker comes from the pilots and maintainers. We, in the F-16 community, know the name is Falcon. However, it came to pass that the jet looked like a Viper from the dual antennas that protrude just aft of the radome and forward of the intake. The name stuck. Most pilots and maintainers call it the Viper within our community. Outside of our community, we do refer to it as a Falcon. As, nobody would understand what we were talking about.

[tophat9000]

While the F-16 official name is Fighting Falcon....it got the unofficial nickname Viper from the fighters in old Battlestar Galactica TV show that was popular when the F-16 first when in to service

Just like the A-10 official name is Thunderbolt2 but got the nickname “Warthog” from a experimental spotted camo that one of the prototypes was trying out