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| Variant F-16I, F-2, F-16V, F-16E (clockwise from top left) Fighter |
International Military - The F-16 Fighting Falcon is by far the most widely used Western fighter jet in the world. To date, it appears that more than 4,500 fighter jets have been built since 1970 and more than two dozen Air Forces worldwide operate them.
The US Air Force has not ordered it since 2005 due to the age of the aircraft which is approaching obsolescence. However, there are some lower class countries who are still interested in asking for her hand for political and economic reasons. The F-16 is so in demand because it was made as a lighter and cheaper option than the F-15 Eagle.
The F-16 Falcon has for decades been the cheapest Western fighter jet on the global arms market. And during that time, this fighter jet was built with several variants. Call it the F-16E/F Desert Falcon which was made specifically for the United Arab Emirates Air Force and the cheaper F-16I designed for Israel's needs. There is also a variant that is indeed reduced in strength for buyers from third world countries.
Quoted from Military Watch Magazine, the US deliberately lowered their hardware, so this fighter jet is very limited. Another influencing factor is the development time at which early F-16s with the latest Block 70/72s are significant, especially in terms of avionics.
Quoted from Military Watch Magazine, here are 5 countries with the worst variant of the F-16.
1. Venezuela
The Venezuelan Air Force is the last operator of the F-16A/B. They have 18 Falcons with very few system upgrades. Venezuelan F-16s use outdated AIM-9L/P and Python 4 visual range air-to-air missiles.
This variant fighter does not have the ability to execute targets beyond visuals due to the combination of very old avionics and sensors.
2. Indonesia
The Indonesian Air Force's F-16 is the same as Venezuela's, in that it does not have capabilities beyond visual range. The jet relies solely on the older variant of the missile, the short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder for air-to-air combat.
However, the Indonesian F-16 variant is newer than Venezuela because it is capable of firing AGM-65G missiles for the air-to-ground role. The Indonesian Air Force's F-16s also have better avionics for precision strikes.
3. Egypt
The Egyptian Air Force is still the largest foreign operator of the F-16 fighter jet. But sadly, their Falcon is the worst in the world. This is because the Egyptian F-16 still relies on outdated avionics.
Their fighter jets are also incapable of firing missiles beyond visual range for air-to-air combat. Egyptian F-16s are also not capable of executing even land or sea targets. This Egyptian F-16 fighter jet still uses the effectively obsolete AIM-7P Sparrow missile.
This missile is actually lacking in various fields, from being unable to attack the “fire and forget” concept to not being able to withstand electronic attacks. Not to mention the very short range for the size of modern warfare. That is, the power of the Egyptian F-16 can be easily overlooked by its opponents.
4. Iraq
The Iraqi Air Force acquired 34 F-16IQs delivered between 2014 and 2017. Like the Egyptians, the Iraqi F-16s are incapable of striking beyond visual range targets, as well as downgraded avionics. In fact, the Iraqi F-16 is considered weaker than the T-50 trainer aircraft imported from South Korea.
5. Turkey
The Turkish Air Force is estimated to have 250 F-16s in service. Unlike most of its NATO sister F-16 carriers, Turkey is not equipped with modern AIM-120C and AIM-120D air-to-air missiles.
In addition, this Turkish F-16 is also not equipped with an electronic attack defense system created in the 1990s. Turkey's F-16s are only capable of targeting as far as 70 kilometers, where modern fighter jets can execute targets hundreds of kilometers away.