F-16, 50th Anniversary

As Snoopy said in Discord, Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the YF-16 in 1974, leading to what would become the F-16 Fighting Falcon, one of the most successful western fighter designs in history.

The YF-16’s journey began in the early 1970s, born from a competition for a lightweight, multirole fighter. On Jan. 20, 1974, the aircraft’s fate took an unexpected turn. During a high-speed taxi test, a control issue caused the prototype to scrape the runway. Pilot Phil Oestricher, with nerves of steel, made the snap decision to take off, marking the plane’s unofficial debut. Six minutes later, it landed safely, its legacy just beginning. The official first flight followed on Feb. 2nd, ushering in a new era of aviation.





Also notably, from the exports perspective... earlier this week the Slovak Airforce took delivery of their first F-16C/D Block 70.
Since the start of production, there have been more than 4,600 F-16's manufactured and it's currently mission-capable in more than 25 countries!