F-16 Test Aircraft Completes Long
Distinguished Career
Source: Lockheed Martin
January 10, 2001
FORT WORTH, Texas - F-16 serial number 75-0750 has
completed a distinguished career as an advanced technology test
aircraft for more than 22 years. It is best known for its service as
the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI)/F-16 technology
demonstrator since the early 1980s.
Aircraft 750 flew its final flight on Jan. 9, 2001 from
its birthplace in Fort Worth, Texas, to Wright-Patterson Air Force
Base in Dayton, Ohio. It is scheduled to be retired and inducted into
the Air Force Museum there.
"The AFTI/F-16 has been an excellent platform because of
the F-16’s basic modern systems, the relative ease of incorporating
advanced technologies and the F-16’s low cost of operation and
maintenance," said Don Swihart, AFTI Program Manager at the Air Force
Research Laboratory in Dayton. "The AFTI/F-16 has been a real
workhorse in proving out advanced fighter technologies, and it is
fitting that this aircraft have its final resting place in the Air
Force Museum."
Aircraft 750 was originally built as an F-16A, the sixth
A model and seventh of eight aircraft in the F-16 Full-Scale
Development program. It first flew and was delivered to the U.S. Air
Force in April 1978. Since then the aircraft has been modified
extensively many times and participated in 10 flight test programs.
(Read an historic summary of test programs and demonstrated
technologies.)
The aircraft’s last achievement was the very successful
Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Subsystems Technology demonstration in
Fort Worth during October-November 2000. The aircraft was modified
with an all-electric flight control system with electrohydrostatic
actuators and a 270-VDC switched reluctance electric power system. It
was the first aircraft to fly with an all-electric flight control
system, adding to its many aviation firsts. Government studies show
the combination of technologies will reduce weight, improve
reliability and maintainability, increase survivability, and trim
costs compared
to traditional hydraulic actuator systems.
During its 22-plus year career, the aircraft accumulated
756 flights and 1,446 flight hours. Much of the time the aircraft was
undergoing extensive modifications at the Fort Worth plant. This
unique aircraft was flown by more than 23 test pilots from Lockheed
Martin (and predecessors), U.S. Air Force, National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, U.S. Marine Corps and the Swedish Air Force.
Customers have included the U.S. Air Force (various agencies and
commands), U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, NASA, Swedish Air Force and DoD’s
Joint Strike Fighter program.
"The AFTI/F-16 has been a great tool for early testing
of high-payoff technologies and has enabled early introduction of
valuable capabilities into F-16 production," said Gary Ervin, vice
president of Advanced Development Programs at Lockheed Martin
Aeronautics in Palmdale, Calif.
Technologies that have transitioned into F-16 production
include: digital flight controls, multifunction displays, dual
multiplex bus avionics architecture, wide-angle head-up display,
up-front controls, single-switch mission reconfiguration, dorsal
avionics compartment, digital data link, digital terrain system,
automatic terrain following and system-wide integrity management,
digital terrain system, night vision system (night vision goggles and
compatible cockpit lighting),
improved takeoff and landing control laws, and voice annunciation.
Items going into the F-16 in the near term include helmet-mounted
cueing of weapons and sensors, digital color map display, internalized
FLIR targeting system, and in-flight route planning.
Advanced technologies demonstrated that have promise for
the next generation of fighters or future incorporation on current
fighters include: voice interaction, auto ground collision avoidance,
head-steered FLIR imaging, covert radar altimeter, electric flight
control actuation, and cooperative engagement capability (separated
target sensor and shooter).
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is a unit of Lockheed Martin
Corp., headquartered in Bethesda, Md. Lockheed Martin is a global
enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture and integration of advanced-technology systems, products
and services. The corporation’s core businesses are systems
integration, space, aeronautics and technology services.
Contact: Mike Nipper
http://www.lmtas.com/news/press/f16/f16pr010110.html
(817) 777-4973
e-mail: michael.j.nipper@lmco.com