F-16 Block 60 First Flight

[DLodge]

Lockheed Martin Enters New Era Of Advanced F-16 Capability With Successful F-16 Block 60 First Flight
Fort Worth, Texas — The newest, most advanced Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-16 completed a successful first flight today.

The aircraft is the first of the Block 60 line, which has been designated the F-16E/F version. It is the first of 80 F-16E/F Block 60 aircraft being produced for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under an order placed in early 2000.

“The first flight of the new F-16E/F is a major milestone in the long F-16 legacy,” said Dain M. *******, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. “With the Block 60, we have introduced a whole new generation of capability that sets the current world standard for multirole fighters.”

The aircraft's designation, F-16E/F, recognizes the major structural, avionics and propulsion enhancements in this practically all-new version of the Fighting Falcon. The last designation change, the F-16C/D, was introduced with the Block 25 version in 1984.

Following takeoff, Lockheed Martin F-16E/F chief test pilot Steve Barter put the F-16 through an initial flight-test profile that included evaluation of the on-board avionics systems and aircraft handling characteristics. Flight duration was about 50 minutes.

“This was not just an ‘around the airfield’ exercise,” Barter said. “We flew some important test points and made this a meaningful flight-test sortie. Not only was this important historically, it was the first and crucial element of our flight-test program.”

“First flight affirms our commitment to produce the world’s most cutting-edge fighter, which cannot be rivaled in its combination of speed, technology and capability,” said John L. Bean, Lockheed Martin vice president for F-16 programs.

The F-16E/F resembles earlier F-16 aircraft in appearance only. Internally, the Block 60 has an all-new cockpit that features all-digital instruments and three 5x7-inch color displays. It is powered by a General Electric F110-GE-132 engine that produces 32,500 pounds of thrust. Additionally, the F-16E/F features a new avionics suite with highlights including a revolutionary Electronic Warfare (EW) system, the new APG-80 Agile Beam Radar (ABR) and a new Integrated FLIR Targeting System (IFTS), all provided by Northrop Grumman.

First production deliveries of the UAE aircraft are slated for April 2004.

The F-16 is the choice of 24 countries. More than 4,000 aircraft have been delivered worldwide from assembly lines in five countries. The F-16 program recently marked 25 years of continuous production deliveries and has forged relationships leading to unprecedented international cooperation. Hundreds more aircraft are on order, and production is expected to continue beyond 2010. Major upgrades for all F-16 versions are being incorporated to keep the fleet modern and fully supportable over the aircraft’s long service life.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., a business area of Lockheed Martin, is a leader in the design, development, systems integration, production and support of advanced military aircraft and related technologies. Its customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout the world. Products include the F-16, F/A-22, F-35 JSF, F-117, T-50, C-5, C-130, C-130J, P-3, S-3 and U-2.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin employs about 125,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2002 sales of $26.6 billion.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?s=1141cf357db9ffc7b9ffa3d6016e491b&postid=256369

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?s=1141cf357db9ffc7b9ffa3d6016e491b&postid=256377

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?s=1141cf357db9ffc7b9ffa3d6016e491b&postid=256368

And here's the video: http://www.lmaeronautics.com/gallery/videos/products/combat_air/f-16/videos/03_214A.mpg

[Seoulstriker]

i still don't understand why they have those bulges on the side.



thanks for the video link! woot

[Trigger]

My guess would be that they are either 'conformal fuel bladders' similar to those on the F-15E or they house the electronics for the upgraded systems on the plane.
Just a guess.

[wholagun]

Hey fellow Poles. why didn't we get the block 60 but rather block 52? Was it too expensive?

AAHHHH WTF? Why does an Emerate get better planes then Poland? ****. If anything lets at least get those CFTs on our F-16s.

[Antepilani]

They are conformal feul tanks.

[Frens]

nice video!

[He219]

Superb Video!

It looks like the F-16I just got one-upped ...

Anybody got comparative info with the 'Desert Falcon' or the F-16I?

:P

[Merik]

I agree with trigger, probably fuel tanks. And from the looks of it, they may have designed the tanks to give it a aerodynamic "coke bottle" effect, much like the F-4.

[Ghostwolf]

Hey fellow Poles. why didn't we get the block 60 but rather block 52? Was it too expensive?

I heard that the Block 52 is UPGRADABLE to Block 60(not sure about
Block 50s and below though). The Republic of Singapore Air Force plans
to upgrade its existing F-16C/D Block 52s to Block 60, and also purchasing
some brand new ones.

[DLodge]

Anybody got comparative info with the 'Desert Falcon' or the F-16I?

The newest, most advanced Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-16 completed a successful first flight today.

The Block 60 definitely has a better radar, a better engine and a better cockpit. It is difficult to speculate about other areas (ECM suite, IRST, FLIR). My guess is that the Block 60 is certainly comparable to, and probably superior to, the F-16I in those other systems as well.

IIRC, some $3 billion of the Block 60's R&D costs were paid by the UAE (usually other countries piggy-back off of stuff the USAF already developed), which is probably why Israel and Poland didn't go with those upgrades; they didn't want to pay the extra money for Lockheed to develop them.

[Retard]

I spent a year working on loan to the Block 50 & 60 programs as a structural engineer. It's an awesome aircraft. I’ve worked on several aircraft programs & I enjoyed it the most. I’ve always loved the F-16 & to be paid to work on it was a thrill.

Before any one starts throwing technical questions, I’m not an expert on the aircraft. I spent a year focused on a couple structural parts being upgraded. Most of my knowledge comes from watching Wings and PC flight sims. You would be surprised how many designers know nothing (& care nothing) about the product. Also, since 9/11, I take security more seriously. If I don’t know that it is already public information, I don’t talk about it. If you want to know just about every about current & future military aircraft, subscribe to Aviation Week.

[He219]

Stress Analysis, Retard?

:D

[Tengu]

SUPER MOVIE IDD woot

Hey fellow Poles. why didn't we get the block 60 but rather block 52? Was it too expensive?
I am not a Pole but i have roots there :hug:

[Seoulstriker]

is the US air force purchasing any of these new f-16s? i don't know why it would need them because of mid-air refueling, though. ;)

[AFACadet]

No, the US is not getting any of these aircraft.

But it is part of the reason why the Pentagon sat there and said "W.T.F. Mate?"

The F-16 Block 60 is vastly better than most of our F-16s out there.


Its not just the CFTs, that make it better. Its the avionics. The biggest jump comes from the AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar.

That radar is a massive leap over all other aircraft radars out there.

In a nut shell, radars work by reflecting EM radiation beams off objects. Mechanical radars stear the whole dish to move the beam. Its heavy and the motor breaks down a lot.

ESA radars on the other hand are flat and don't move. Instead, it uses physics principals to move the beam by shifting frequency. Its light, and the beam can instantly shift anywhere.

AESA radars on the other hand use 'elements.' Each acts like its own radar, but AESA systems are comprised of hundreds to thousands of elements (the F/A-22 has about 2,000). What that means is that you have hundreds or thousands of small low powered radars that can each do their own thing.

So, for example, a mechanical radar can be in an AtoA mode. To scan the airspace in front of the pilot (about 120 degrees wide, 60-120 degrees high), it would take about 30 seconds. After that scan, he would have to start over again to scan the same airspace.

An AESA radar on the other hand can scan the same about of airspace instantly, and continue to scan in real time for as long as the pilot wants.

In addition to that, the pilot can also be scanning in AtoG mode, locking on to a target(s), use some elements to jam enemy radars, and use some simply to sit there and 'listen' for enemy EM emissions.

Other benefits of AESA radars or 'frequency hopping' where the radar continually and randomly switches its frequency. Normal radars must stay on the same frequency. Enemy RWR systems can easily pick these emissions up, but if the frequency is hopping all the time, that can't be picked up very well.

When the AESA radar is locking up a target, it can use a number of lower powered different frequency beams, put them together, and fire at the target. Each beam of a frequency will be low enough that it won't even set off an enemy RWR system.


The USAF is getting this capability in the F/A-22 and JSF. AESA radars are slowly being put on F/A-18 E/Fs, and 12-24 F-15Cs in Alaska have them, but the vast majority of US aircraft do not have this capability now.


In addition to the radar on the block 60, the FLIR systems and EW systems are more advanced than what are in most US aircraft.




The Pentagon is ticked--not so much that the UAE is getting a vastly better aircraft than we have (although that's part of it)--but that the UAE got that aircraft, brand new and developed just for them, for only millions of dollars and a couple years. The USAF would have to pay billions upon billions and wait about a decade for the same thing.

The same thing happened when Japan bought E-767s a few years back. They are better than our E-3s in just about every way, but Japan got them for a smaller price and for a fraction of time the USAF would have needed to get them.

[mustamato]

The Pentagon is ticked--not so much that the UAE is getting a vastly better aircraft than we have (although that's part of it)--but that the UAE got that aircraft, brand new and developed just for them, for only millions of dollars and a couple years. The USAF would have to pay billions upon billions and wait about a decade for the same thing.

The same thing happened when Japan bought E-767s a few years back. They are better than our E-3s in just about every way, but Japan got them for a smaller price and for a fraction of time the USAF would have needed to get them.

That was quite interesting. Do you have any theory of why?

[DLodge]

Just to add to what AFACadet said, the country that will soon acquire the most advanced Strike Eagles on the planet is not the U.S., nor is it Israel, but Korea. And an even better version (almost a 5th generation fighter that's comparable to the Eurofighter, Rafale and the latest Flanker proposals) is being marketed to...Singapore of all countries.

So think about that: the best F-16s are going to UAE and the best F-15s are going to Korea and maybe Singapore. Kinda interesting eh?

[usa320]

This ticks me off. Buying the F-16E would mean we could replace the F-16A's in use by the reserves with front line F-16C's. That would mean retiring older F-16A's completely, and moving the F-16C's back to reserve and putting F-16Es as front line fighters, which would in effect make teh JSF program uneeded. Navy and marines would get their F-18E's. Air force would get their F-22s and F-16E's. No need for billions of dollars spent on the JSF.

[AFACadet]

The Pentagon is ticked--not so much that the UAE is getting a vastly better aircraft than we have (although that's part of it)--but that the UAE got that aircraft, brand new and developed just for them, for only millions of dollars and a couple years. The USAF would have to pay billions upon billions and wait about a decade for the same thing.

The same thing happened when Japan bought E-767s a few years back. They are better than our E-3s in just about every way, but Japan got them for a smaller price and for a fraction of time the USAF would have needed to get them.

That was quite interesting. Do you have any theory of why?

The USAF acquisition process is old, outdated, lengthy, and full of red tape.

About 2 years ago, the AF relized this and is working on changing it.

EDIT: the Block 60 and F-15K were the last straws.

[AFACadet]

. Air force would get their F-22s and F-16E's. No need for billions of dollars spent on the JSF.

The problem with that is the block 60 is one of the most advanced aircraft on the planet avionics wise, but its still very far behind the JSF when that comes on line.

The tech in the JSF is another topic, but to put it simply, its even more advanced than in the F/A-22 (not as powerful, but more advanced).

[DLodge]

About 2 years ago, the AF relized this and is working on changing it.

Out of curiosity...how? Will it be reflected in the way the JSF program is run?

[AFACadet]

Out of curiosity...how? Will it be reflected in the way the JSF program is run?


The main aspects are streamlining the process. The old regs were hundreds and hundres of pages. It took a lot of time and money to follow though all the steps.

There were rules on how to get something, who you could get products from and when, who had to approve it, what paperwork needs to be done, ect, ect, ect.

The process just to buy a new type of bolt was massive, costly and time consuming.

They are moving more towards a comericial way of doing things. Get rid of all those unneeded rules and steps, cut down the number of people involved, and look for the best product at the best price.


It is being used in the JSF program and from everything I've heard, it worked out well. Of course, there are still some problems, and the JSF had the benefit of using technology developed for the Raptor (without the F/A-22, there would be no JSF).

But look at the numbers. The Raptor design process started in the early 80s. It won't be in service until next december.

The JSF design process started in the late 90s and will be ready sometime in 2010 (although that probably will slip a little).

The biggest diffrence is price though. The program will cost much less, and the AF, Navy, Marines, and about 10-15 other countries will get a 5th Gen figther for about the price (or even less than) current aircraft.



The current UCAVs under developemt are benefiting even more. Of course they cost much less to design and build in the first place, but the two UCAVs being tested now (the X-45 and X-47) were both completely redsigned after the lessons learned from OEF and OIF. That could not have happened in years past.

[Dodger1911]

The Process taking so long is why the Air Force and the rest of the military is moving towards ISO 9000 and away from the outdated mil standards

[Retard]

Stress Analysis, Retard?

:D

No, I'm a designer/scope jockey/CATIA driver/high-paid draftman.