Fatigue test plots F-16 future for USAF

Flight Global ^ | 12/7/2010 | Stephen Trimble

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Lockheed Martin has received a US Air Force F-16 Block 50 fighter set aside to undergo a three-year series of fatigue life tests that will play a major role in deciding the fate of hundreds of similar aircraft.

Over the next 15 years, the USAF inventory is projected to dip as much as 10% below the required threshold of 2,000 fighters. As a result, service officials are considering extending the service life of as many as 300 F-16s by as much as 50%, to 12,000 flight hours.

But first the USAF must find out how much service life remains among the roughly 1,130 F-16s currently in service, and what repairs are required to keep some of the aircraft flying.

Lockheed plans to start the three-year, continuous testing process that will log the equivalent of about 24,000h of flight time on the airframe.

"The USAF is about to put us under contract," says Bill McHenry, director of F-16 business development.

Air force officials have not been eager to invest in prolonging the F-16, but the original vision to transfer to an all-stealth fleet before 2030 has been overtaken by events. Capping production of Lockheed F-22s at 187 aircraft has forced the USAF to spend $900 million to equip 176 Boeing F-15Cs with the Raytheon APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array radar.

[Jet Jaguar]

F-16 ping.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Ping