Posted on 06/11/2002 12:12:54 PM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
The 28 F-16s--denied to Pakistan due to that country's nuclear arms stance--have been sitting for nearly a decade in the Arizona desert at the U.S. Air Force's Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB. But they may have finally found a home. The Block 15 A and B models are upgraded with HUDs and improved engines for foreign military sales. Half are to go to the Navy at NAS Fallon, Nev., where they will serve in the adversary squadron associated with the Top Gun school, replacing F/A-18A/Bs and F-5s at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. The other 14 are to fly to Edwards AFB, Calif., to serve with the 412th Test Wing as flight test support chase aircraft replacing long-serving T-38s. However, those vying for the aircraft in the U.S. say the plan "changes hourly." The F-16s are having their Pakistani air force star and crescent moon insignia painted out and their engines reconditioned before being ferried to their new bases. New Zealand was the last country to try buying the aircraft, but changes in its government led to a cancellation of the deal.
The F-2 support fighter aircraft for the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) is the result of a joint Japan and USA development programme. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the prime contractor and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company serves as the principal US subcontractor. The Japan Defence Agency plans to procure a total of 130 F-2 aircraft, with production deliveries from the year 2000 to beyond 2010. The requirement is for 83 single-seater and 47 two-seater aircraft. The F-2A is the single-seat version and the F-2B is the two-seat version.
In 1987, the JASDF selected a variant of the F-16C as the Japanese FS-X aircraft to replace the Mitsubishi F-1 aircraft, and in 1988 Mitsubishi was selected as prime contractor for the aircraft, which became known as the F-2. The programme involved technology transfer from the USA to Japan, and responsibility for cost sharing was split 60% by Japan and 40% by USA.
Four flying prototypes were developed, along with two static prototypes for static testing and for fatigue tests. Flight trials of the prototypes were successfully completed by 1997, and the aircraft entered production in 1998. The first production aircraft was delivered to the Japanese Defence Agency in September 2000, and by the end of March 2001, 18 F-2 fighters had been delivered. The aircraft are being assembled at Mitsubishi's Komaki South Plant in Nagoya.
The Taiwanese Ching-Kuo Fighter is developed and manufactured by the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation based in Taichung. The aircraft is also referred to as the Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF). The Ching-Kuo is an all-weather, multi-role fighter and is built in one-seater and two-seater configurations.
The programme to develop the aircraft, known as the An Hsiang or Safe Flight programme, started in 1982 with identification of the requirements for an air-superiority fighter. The rollout ceremony of the first prototype took place in December 1988, when the aircraft was named after the late President Chiang Ching-Kuo. The Ching-Kuo made its first flight in May 1989.
Ching-Kuo air-superiority fighters have been operational in the RoC Air Force of Taiwan (Republic of China) since January 2000, and the last of a total of 130 entered service in July 2000. The first flight of the lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) derivative is scheduled for the third quarter of 2002. A strike fighter development programme was initiated in 2000, for entry into service in 2010.
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So my question is what the heck is going on here?
...nor of the rework to remove them. I just thought some pics of F16s in flight would look good on the thread.
Concur:
They look MUCH better in flight.
I'm not even sure what you are talking about. What is the F-2? Did you mean F-22?
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