Hello all, today the 27th of September was the last day of the Dutch F16. They have now retired peacefully. They have served the Netherlands for many years. And then it is now time for a farewell
The F16 would do a retirement flight today but unfortunately I couldn’t be there, besides the fact that I couldn’t be there myself it didn’t make much sense to go to the place where I would go if I wanted to be there as the F16 wasn’t going to pass that place due to weather conditions, unfortunately it had to come that way. In any case, we can dwell on the fact that the F16 will be gone from the Dutch Air Force.
Since the F16 will no longer be in service for our country as of today, I will tell a bit more about the F16, and the replacement for our fighter.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon MLU (midlife update) is a multi-purpose fighter (multi-role). The aircraft can conduct precision bombing as well as aerial combat. The F-16 forms the most important part of the Royal Air Force’s strike force.
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Main Tasks
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Participate in strategic air operations, conducting precision bombing from medium altitude with minimal risk of unintended damage and civilian casualties.
Provide support to own ground forces. Enemy units are shelled and/or bombed with high accuracy to avoid casualties among own units.
Gain and maintain air superiority to enforce necessary freedom of action for own air, sea and ground forces. This includes contributing to air embargoes such as enforcing a no-fly zone.
Conduct air reconnaissance missions. Thanks to the high speed of the aircraft, large areas can be reconnoitered. The disadvantage of fighter aircraft in this role is the relatively short time they can explore. This is because of the high fuel consumption.
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Specifications
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manufacturer: Lockheed Martin (designed by General Dynamics)
length: 15.05 meters
height: 5.00 meters
wingspan: 9.45 meters (10.00 meters including missiles)
weight: 11,000 kilos (empty), 16,000 kilos (maximum loaded)
engines: 1 Pratt & Whitney 100-PW-220E turbojet
power: thrust 15,000 lbs (25,000 lbs with afterburner)
top speed: 2,000 kilometers per hour
flying range: 2,700 kilometers without refueling in the air
flight altitude: 17 kilometers (maximum)
number: 213 in the beginning (177 single-seaters and 36 two-seaters), now 24 until 2024 (number decreasing until the F-35 has taken over all duties).
in service with: Royal Air Force
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Armament
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Under the wings and fuselage of the F-16 is a number of suspension points for bombs and missiles. The mission determines the type of armament an F-16 carries
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Midlife update
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The Royal Air Force commissioned the F-16 in 1979 as the successor to the F-104 Starfighter, and later as the successor to the NF-5. The Air Force received the last F-16 of a total of 213 aircraft in February 1992.
The service life of the F-16 was originally 20 years. Therefore, the F-16s underwent the midlife update (MLU) since 1998. It has been continuously developed since then. The modernization extends the operational, technical and economic life span by about 20 years. The update includes the replacement of a large number of systems. For example, the F-16 MLUs received a new radar, 2 multifunction color displays, new computers and sensors and GPS.
The improved data modem (IDM) automatically projects target information from the ground onto the head up display (HUD). The MLU also enabled the use of night-vision equipment. Thanks to the further evolved hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS), most selections of radar modes, weapons, data link and EWMS can be taken without taking the hands off the throttle and stick.
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Additional instruments
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Since the MLU, various reconnaissance and target indicating instruments can be attached to the air intake:
The targeting pod (target indication) assists the pilot in locating the target and accurately shedding armament. The pod provides information on surface targets and determines accurate locations for the GPS-guided bombs. The built-in laser also allows the laser-guided bombs to be accurately dropped. The system also calculates the best time of ejection.
RecceLite (reconnaissance) is an advanced photo reconnaissance system. Camera images can be sent directly from the air to specialists on the ground for analysis. On missions, the system is used for such purposes as route reconnaissance and detection of improvised explosive devices.
An electronic jamming container can also be hung under the fuselage.
F-16 Replacement
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There are limits to aircraft modernization for several reasons:
Operational obsolescence: the F-16 is less able to cope with new conditions and threats.
Technical obsolescence: spare parts are harder to obtain. Wear and tear is harder to fix and maintenance takes more time. As a result, the deployability of the F-16 is under pressure.
Economic obsolescence: it is becoming increasingly expensive to combat operational and technical obsolescence.
After an extensive comparison process, the F-35 Lightning II fighter emerged as the best successor to the F-16. In September 2013, the Netherlands purchased its first 2 aircraft. F-35 fighters have been flying in the Netherlands since 2019.
