In the early 1990s, the Israel Defense
Forces/Air Force (IDF/AF) announced that they were seeking a new strike fighter to replace
the Kurnass 2000 (F-4 Phantom upgrade).
The proposed extended-range F-16ES
(Enhanced Strategic) version of the Fighting Falcon was originally developed for the
Israeli strike fighter competition. In order to provide increased range, conformal fuel
tanks which hold an extra 3200 pounds of fuel were to be fitted. These tanks accommodated
almost as much fuel as underwing tanks, and in addition they produced much less drag and
freed up underwing stations for weapons. With these tanks fitted, the F-16ES would have a
1025 mile unrefueled mission range with a warload of 4000 pounds and four air-to-air
missiles, which was 40 percent better than that which the Block 50 F-16C/D could achieve.
An additional feature was the replacement
of the drag-inducing external LANTIRN pods by an internally-mounted system. The
terrain-following capability was built into the AN/APG-68 radar, and an internal
FLIR/laser system was added in which only the sensors and laser transmitters actually
protruded out into the airflow.
The F-16ES was also to have been provided
with a more automated cockpit, making it possible to carry out precision night strikes
with just a single pilot, making a second cockpit unnecessary.
Unfortunately for Lockheed Martin, this
project lost out to the McDonnell Douglas F-15I Strike Eagle in the competition, but
Israel did arrange to take delivery of 50 early model F-16s.
Following the loss of the Israeli strike
fighter competition to the F-15I Strike Eagle, Lockheed Martin has resurrected the project
following an expression of interest by several other nations. Lockheed has begun
flight-testing with F-16C 83-1120 carrying modifications designed to explore this project
further. The aircraft first flew on November 5, 1994, and had aerodynamic shaping of the
upper fuselage to simulate the 24-foot long removable conformal fuel tanks. The aircraft
has also been flown with 600 US-gallon underwing tanks, along with an aerodynamic shape
representing an internal nose-mounted FLIR (both above and below the nose), and a weapons
loading of two 2000-pound bombs.
The flight test program was concluded in
January of 1995, and the aircraft was demodified and returned to Edwards AFB on January
23, 1995. Although there are no immediate plans to produce the F-16ES, some of the
innovations produced by this project will probably appear on the Block 60/62 F-16C/D if
and when it is produced.
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.
- Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 40 and Beyond,
Bill Sweetman, World AirPower Journal, Vol 36, Spring 1999
