Viper Dogfights Secure Victory Over Formidable Dssmlar Aircraft in Aerial Battle

The genesis of the successful F-16 Viper multi-role fighter aircraft lies in reaction to severe deficiencies in US fighter design revealed by the Vietnam War.

For many years in the Vietnam War era, U.S. Air Force (USAF) fighter pilots were not allowed to fight BFM (Basic Fighter Maneuvers, dogfight) against dissimilar aircraft because it was deemed “too dangerous.” The USAF paid the price for this error, however, as the first time many fighter pilots fought a dissimilar type of aircraft was in the skies over North Vietnam against a determined adversary with live missiles.

Dissatisfaction with these deficiencies led to the USAF F-15 decision.

However, since many in the fighter community believed that aircraft like the F-15 Eagle were too large and expensive for many combat roles, the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) was initiated.

The program sought a small, lightweight, low-cost, air superiority fighter designed for high performance and ease of maintenance.

Two aircraft competed: the General Dynamics YF-16 and the Northrop YF-17.

On January 13, 1975, at Edwards Air Force Base, Secretary of the Air Force John L. McLucas announced that the YF-16 had won the competition over the YF-17 for full-scale development as the USAF’s next Air Combat Fighter.

The YF-16 evolved into the F-16, a small, lightweight, low-cost, air superiority day fighter designed for high performance and ease of maintenance. It achieved combat-ready status in October 1980.

“Badger” Thornton describes what it’s like to dogfight in the Viper: “At the merge, you enjoy one last peaceful breath before pulling back on the stick, and then, BAM! When your body gets hit with nine G’s, it feels like you’re just run over by an NFL linebacker who is now standing on your chest making it nearly impossible to breathe. The first couple of times you experience this, your body panics and you think, ‘I’m never going to get through this; it hurts.’ The first few air-to-air sorties, you are not able to pull up a good fight because you are just trying to figure out how to deal with these stresses and stay conscious.”