Teaching An Old Falcon New Tricks - IMRAN®
As a Pakistan-born American, I recall the Catch-22 drama Pakistan had to deal with to receive the coveted F-16s it had already paid the USA and General Dynamics for years before.
Years later I got to see and touch one of the (by-then) aging ones during a visit to Pakistan Air Force’s legendary airbase in Sargodha, where my younger brother was stationed as the top law enforcement officer.
My visit there was at a very tense moment with Pakistan and its sworn enemy on the verge of nuclear war. As a perpetual student pilot and forever wannabe-fighter-pilot kid at heart, it was an amazing feeling of awe and pride — as a Pakistani, an American, an engineer, and a pilot — to be standing next to the marvel of engineering and lethal force the nuclear-prepped aircraft represented.
The F-16 first entered service in 1978, and nearly 4,600 have been produced since then. Today, it remains in frontline use with the United States Air Force and more than 25 other air forces worldwide, making it the most widely deployed fighter of its generation.
The design is hitting 50 years of age soon, but I still love the sleek aircraft. Plus, it continues to improve in capability. “L3Harris Starts Low Rate Production Of New F-16 Viper Shield,” reports SAE International.
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