F/C-16 Fighting Falcon II

The Lockheed Morgan F/C-16 Fighting Falcon II (Simply Falcon II) is a single-engine supermaneuverable multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the Osean Air Defense Force (OADF). Designed as an air superiority fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 2,300 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1986. Although no longer being purchased by the OADF, improved versions are being built for export customers. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after merging with Martin Marietta in 1995.

Like its brother, the Falcon II's key features include a frameless bubble canopy for good visibility, side-mounted control stick for easier control while maneuvering, an ejection seat reclined 30 degrees from vertical to reduce the effect of g-forces on the pilot, and a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire flight control system and 2D thrust vectoring engines that helps to make it an agile aircraft.

The F/C-16's official name is "Fighting Falcon II" and "Falcon II, but "Viper II" is commonly used by its pilots and crews, because of a perceived resemblance to a viper snake as well as to the fictional Colonial Viper starfighter from the television program Battlestar Galactica which aired at the time the F-16 entered service.

The Falcon II has been used in the Belkan War by the Allied Forces, but not popular as the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The Falcon II served in many wars by the OADF, Valkan War in 2003, Circum-Pacific War in 2010, and the Lighthouse War in 2019. The F/C-16 is also used by the Republic of Emmeria Air Force in the Emmeria-Estovakia War and in the Aurelian War by the Aurelian Air Force.

Design[]

Like the F-16, the F/C-16 is a single-engine, highly maneuverable, supersonic, multi-role tactical fighter aircraft. The F/C-16 has many similarities with the F-16 such as the frameless bubble canopy and a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire (RSS/FBW) flight control system. But there are some differences, the F/C-16 is larger, heavier, faster, and better maneuverability due to the 2D thrust vectoring engine.

Features[]

The F/C-16 was the first fighter aircraft purpose-built to pull 9-g maneuvers and can reach a maximum speed of over Mach 2. Innovations include a frameless bubble canopy for better visibility, a side-mounted control stick, and a reclined seat to reduce g-force effects on the pilot. It is armed with an internal M61 Vulcan or a GAU-28 Avenger cannon in the left wing root and has multiple locations for mounting various missiles, bombs and pods. It has a thrust-to-weight ratio greater than one, providing power to climb and vertical acceleration.

Compared to the Yuktobanian Sukhoi Su-27, Skira Sk.27 and Mikoyan MiG-29, the F/C-16 is better when it comes to avionics and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air combat.

The F/C-16 is equipped with a 2D thrust vectoring engine, making it very maneuverable in a dogfight. It can also carry more armaments, since the F/C-16 is a medium-weight fighter unlike the F-16. The F/C-16 has a large loadout of eight AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, with advanced avionics and the thrust vectoring engine, the F/C-16 is deadly in both Within Visual Range (WVR) and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) engagements.

The F/C-16 is relatively cheap, it is suitable for small and developing countries like most countries on the Verusan continent.

Armament[]

The F/C-16 could be armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-132 ASRAAM heat-seeking short-range air-to-air missiles (AAM) by employing rail launchers on each wingtip, as well as radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow medium-range AAMs in a weapons mix. More recent versions support the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the AIM-260 JATM on their wingtips to reduce wing flutter. The aircraft can carry various other AAMs, a wide variety of air-to-ground missiles, rockets or bombs; electronic countermeasures (ECM), navigation, targeting or weapons pods; and fuel tanks on 11 hardpoints – eight under the wings, two on wingtips, and one under the fuselage. Two other locations under the fuselage are available for sensor or radar pods. The F/C-16 carries a 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan cannon or a 30mm (1.18 in) GAU-28 Avenger cannon, which is mounted inside the fuselage to the left of the cockpit.

Drawbacks[]

However, its 2D thrust vectoring is still unable to match Yuktobanian and Erusean 3D thrust vectoring. Arming it for ground-attack missions will sacrifice most of its BVR capabilities, since it is still a medium-weight fighter and cannot carry weapons externally. Its thrust vectoring engine and larger body also increase its radar-cross section, making it can be detected easier by hostile radars from miles away.

Specifications (F/C-16 Block 50 and 52)[]

General characteristics[]

Crew: 1
Length: 18.05 m
Wingspan: 10.6 m
Height: 5.3 m
Empty weight: 10,050 kg
Gross weight: 24,024 kg
Fuel capacity: 4,200 kg internals
Payload: 11,167 kg
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 with 24,008 lbf thrust dry and 31,160 lbf with afterburner.