Denmark was a member of the quartet of
nations that brought the Fighting Falcon to Europe. The initial Kongelige Danske
Flyvevaaben (Royal Danish Air Force) order, placed in June 1975, was for 46 single seat
F-16As and 12 two-seat F-16Bs. Final assembly of these planes was carried out by the SABCA
plant in Belgium, and all were built to the initial Block 1 standards.
Deliveries to the KDF began in January
28, 1980, with the arrival of the first F-16B. The first squadrons to convert to the F-16
were Eskadrilles 727 and 730, which were both based at Skrystrup. The new F-16s replaced
the elderly F-100 Super Sabres which were still serving with these units. Esk 727 was
declared operational to NATO on August 26, 1981. In 1983, Eskadrilles 723 and 726 at
Aalborg converted to the F-16, replacing the units' F-104G Starfighters. Esk 723 was
declared operational with the F-16 in March of 1984.
With four squadrons flying the F-16,
Denmark was finally able to phase out the last of its F-104G Starfighters and F-100 Super
Sabres. The 58 F-16A/Bs in the initial KDF order were later upgraded to F-16A/B Block 10
standards by the KDF's Aalborg workshop in the Pacer Loft 1 program.
In August 1984, a follow-on batch of 12
Block 15 (large-tail) aircraft (8 single seaters and 4 two-seaters) was ordered. These
were built by Fokker in the Netherlands, and were intended as attrition replacements.
The following squadrons of the KDF are
equipped with the F-16:
- Eskadrille 723 based at Aalborg
Transitioned from F-104G to F-16 in January 1983
- Eskadrille 726 based at Aalborg
Transitioned from F-104G to F-16 in late 1983.
Received all the Block 15 OCU aircraft purchased in the follow-on batch.
- Eskadrille 727 based at Skrydstrup
First Danish squadron to receive the F-16,
becoming operational on April 1, 1981.
- Eskadrille 730 based at Skrydstrup
Transition to F-16 completed Ausust 11, 1982,
replacing F-100 Super Sabre.
The primary air-intercept weapon carried
by KDF F-16A/Bs is the AIM-9L Sidewinder infrared homer, but the KDF plans to acquire the
AIM-120 AMRAAM "fire-and-forget" air-to-air missile for its F-16s. It will also
acquire the Hughes AGM-65G Maverick air-to-surface missile for ground attack missions. The
F-16s of Esk 726 were assigned the task of photographic reconnaissance, taking over from
the SAAB Drakens of Esk 725 and Esk 729. To fulfill this role, they received the Red Baron
reconnaissance pod with Vinten cameras previously carried by the Drakens, However, a new
low-drag pod is under development.
By 1987, attrition had reduced strength
to the level at which four fully-active squadrons could no longer be supported, and the
Flyvevabnet began to search for additional Fighting Falcons. In 1992, the KDF announced a
reduction in personnel strength in order to release funds to purchase 24 additional
Fighting Falcons--18 As and 6 Bs. These were scheduled for delivery in 1993-95, and their
arrival wwould allow the last of the SAAB Drakens now serving with Eskadrille 729 to be
retired. However, these fell afoul of defense spending cuts and the order had to be
cancelled.
Three former USAF Block 15 aircraft from
the 170th Fighter Squadron of the Illinois Air National Guard were delivered to the KDF in
July of 1994 as attrition replacements. In February of 1997, three F-16As and one F-16B
were delivered to Denmark from AMARC storage. These planes went through a thorough
overhaul, which included modification to Danish standards.
61 of Denmark's Block 15 F-16A/Bs were
scheduled to go through the Mid-Life Update (MLU) program beginning in 1996. Under the MLU
program, they were to be brought up to approximately F-16C/D Block 50/52 status. The
upgrade included the AN/APG-66(V2A) radar, the GPS navigational aid, a wide-angle HUD,
night-vision goggle capability, a modular mission computer, and a digital terrain system.
This program is scheduled for completion in 1999.
A Danish-built reconnaissance pod was
developed for the F-16. The locally-built pod included some equipment taken from RF 35
Drakens, which consisted of an Infrared Line Scanner and two Vinten F95 cameras each in
the front and rear sections. The pot can be carried on the centerline underfuselage pylon
. Two pod-equipped F-16s were assigned to Escadrille 726 at Alborg, which first entered
service in Janaury 1994. A more advanced Per Udsen pod is currently under development.
All European-built F-16s were assigned
USAF serials for administrative purposes. RDAF F-16s carry the last 3 digits of their USAF
serial numbers on the fuselage. For F-16As, the serial number is prefixed by E, for F-16Bs
it is prefixed by ET.
Serials of Danish F-16s:
78-0174/0176 General Dynamics F-16A Block 1 Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-174/E-176)
78-0177/0188 General Dynamics F-16A Block 5 Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-177/E-188)
78-0189/0194 General Dynamics F-16A Block 10 Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-189/E-194)
78-0195/0197 General Dynamics F-16A Block 10A Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-195/E-197)
78-0198/0199 General Dynamics F-16A Block 10B Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-198/E-199)
78-0200/0203 General Dynamics F-16A Block 10C Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-200/E-203)
78-0204/0205 General Dynamics F-16B Block 1 Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-204/ET-205)
78-0206/0208 General Dynamics F-16B Block 5 Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-206/ET-208)
78-0209 General Dynamics F-16B Block 10 Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-209)
78-0210 General Dynamics F-16B Block 10A Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-210)
78-0211 General Dynamics F-16B Block 10B Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-211)
80-3596/3597 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15 Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-596/597).
80-3598/3602 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15B Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-598/602).
80-3603/3606 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15D Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-603/606).
80-3607/3609 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15F Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-607/609).
80-3610/3611 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15H Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (E-610/611).
80-3612 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15 Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-612).
80-3613 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15B Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-613).
80-3614 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15F Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-614).
80-3615 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15Q Fighting Falcon
built by SABCA for Denmark (ET-615).
86-0197/0199 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15Y OCU Fighting Falcon
built by Fokker for Denmark (ET-197/199).
87-0004/0007 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15AA OCU Fighting Falcon
built by Fokker for Denmark (E-004/007)
87-0008 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15AC OCU Fighting Falcon
built by Fokker for Denmark (E-008)
87-0022 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15Y OCU Fighting Falcon
built by Fokker for Denmark (ET-022)
Serials of the ANG planes delivered to
Denmark:
82-1008/1025 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15P Fighting Falcon
1024 transferred to Denmark in 1994 (E-024).
83-1066/1087 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15Q Fighting Falcon
1075 transferred to Denmark in 1994 (E-075).
83-1107/1117 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15S Fighting Falcon
1107 transferred to Denmark in 1994 (E-107)
Sources:
- Combat Aircraft F-16, Doug Richardson,
Crescent, 1992.
- General Dynamics Aircraft and their
Predecessors, John Wegg, Naval Institute Press, 1990.
- The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and
Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.
- United States Military Aircraft Since
1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
- F-16 Fighting Falcon--A Major Review of
the West's Universal Warplane, Robert F. Dorr, World Airpower Journal, Spring 1991.
- The World's Great Interceptor Aircraft,
Gallery, 1989.
- Modern Military Aircraft--F-16 Viper, Lou
Drendel, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1992.
- Lockheed F-16 Variants, Part 1, World
Airpower Journal, Volume 21, Summer 1995.
- Air Power Analysis: Scandinavia, World
AirPower Journal, Volume 34, 1998.
