USAF F-16A Block 15 (Mirage Factory) for SF2 ?

[MigBuster 2,884]

Depends how far you are going..................Block 10 (1/5/10) were upgraded to C type gun muzzle at some point..maybe 1990s ..Isreali Netz and MLU 10s (1/5/10) had it.

Also a number of Block 10 (1/5/10) got the bigger horizontal stabs from mid 1980s and became known as "big tail Block 10s" (nope not Block 15s)

 

 

 

[+daddyairplanes 10,232]

true, but lets say one wants a  Block 10 in 1983, or Block 15 in 1986........

 

 

Edited June 11 by daddyairplanes

[+Nyghtfall 2,154]

Excuse my sidedrift, but I always wondered, why there are in fact only 6 major F-16 versions (A+B, C+D, E+F), although each block alone usually brought lots of not so small changes with it. On other planes this often resulted in a new variant-letter, but not so on F-16s.

[+Menrva 4,200]

On 11/6/2024 at 10:28 AM, Nyghtfall said:

Excuse my sidedrift, but I always wondered, why there are in fact only 6 major F-16 versions (A+B, C+D, E+F), although each block alone usually brought lots of not so small changes with it. On other planes this often resulted in a new variant-letter, but not so on F-16s.

Ditto that, I've always wondered the same. That's a good question, hope someone can give a better insight into all Block variants of F-16s.

I know Blocks exist for other aircraft as well, but usually those resulted in upgrades that are not really noticeable visually. The Raptor underwent many Block updates, but those are mainly about software and avionics and compatibility with specific weapons.

[+daddyairplanes 10,232]

im not 100% certain, but my money is on...... money. 

small incremental block increases get overlooked and approved in the budget process easier than major model letter upgrades.

amusingly, some of the older birds have gone to Block system as well, such as the KC-135R Block 45 upgrade

 

[Svetlin 541]

Yes, that's logical. There is hardly any more evident example of this trend than the Hornet and the Super Hornet. On the other hand it seems to me the F-16E/F were labelled E/F instead of F-16C/D Block 60 simply in an attempt to convince the buyer they are buying cutting-edge technology and not something outdated. So, some play with blocks and versions - "Nah, no biggie, it's just another block." vs. "Oh, no, that's a brand new thing, look, it is not the C/D anymore, it is the E/F now", that kind of thing. And that is going further with the F-16V now. 

[Wrench 9,846]

block numbering goes all the way back to WW2;  AAF birds most def!!! (P-47D-20, P-51D-10, P-38J-5, etc). Oddly, I don't remember anything about USN birds of the period, just the sub-number (SBD-5, F6F-5N, SB2C-4, etc)

[MigBuster 2,884]

The V thing is a mess.........currently Lockheed refer it being an upgrade package for older F-16s getting some of the Block 70/72 features.

New build F-16s on the other hand seem to be F-16C/D Block 70 or 72 as it stands.

 

Back in the 80s the Block 50 was supposedly a cheaper scaled back Block 70 proposal according to RAND.

Then Block 70 may have been unofficially used to refer to the F-16IN Super Viper for India (Based on the Block 60) going 15 years back.

The New Block70/72 on the other hand are not based on the Block 60 but are just the next iteration of the Block 50+ / 52+ (or advanced)

 

 

 

 

 

[+Nyghtfall 2,154]

19 hours ago, Wrench said:

block numbering goes all the way back to WW2;  AAF birds most def!!! (P-47D-20, P-51D-10, P-38J-5, etc). Oddly, I don't remember anything about USN birds of the period, just the sub-number (SBD-5, F6F-5N, SB2C-4, etc)

I don't know for WW2, but in the 50s/60s the USN definitely also had blocks. At that time blocks were visually applied by small letters after the BuNo, beginning with A up to Z and then starting with AA and so on. I spent some time in the past, looking for those for the Skyhawks, but it seems, it's not entirely the same blocksystem as the one from the USAF.

USN-blocks seem to be small production badges of planes. For A-4Ms for example the productionblocks were like 12-13 and up to 24 planes (158 planes made in blocks A-J). On A-4Cs the blockletters reach up to AA or AB. Unfortunately I couldn't find any references on what the actual differences on different block letters were.

Those letters were also used on other USN planes (F-4, F4D for example), but not for a very long time.

Sorry for the hijack.

Thanks for the input on F-16 blocks.

[PeacePuma 569]

On 11/6/2024 at 4:28, Nyghtfall said:

Excuse my sidedrift, but I always wondered, why there are in fact only 6 major F-16 versions (A+B, C+D, E+F), although each block alone usually brought lots of not so small changes with it. On other planes this often resulted in a new variant-letter, but not so on F-16s.

I was never quite clear about the F-16 CJ or CM designations as I read on reddit that it had to do with the CCIP upgrade but didn't know if they were factory designations or MLU type modifications.

About the upgrades, I don't know if everyone knows that Argentina bought 24 vipers from Denmark, the issue is that in local forums today is being discussed which tape is better between the 6.6 from neighboring Chile which is being upgraded by Lockheed Martin or the 6.6 from the Danes applied in European workshops, it is speculated that they have different ratings depending on the supplier that implements it... in Europe it was discussed at the time who had the best viper????

@ravenclaw_007 Pd I do not want to ask for anything but if you ever have the disposition to add or remove things to the block 50 I made some changes that in some future could be included in the lod instead of doing it with false pilot. 

 

Edited June 13 by PeacePuma

[MigBuster 2,884]

6 hours ago, PeacePuma said:

I was never quite clear about the F-16 CJ or CM designations as I read on reddit that it had to do with the CCIP upgrade but didn't know if they were factory designations or MLU type modifications.

F-16CG / DG = Block 40 / 42

F-16CJ / DJ = Block 50 / 52

F-16CM / DM = Block 40/42/50/52 upgraded via CCIP

 

Yes they are official - all the manuals refer to them like that (e.g. F-16CM-1)

The 'M' in 'CM' refers to the new Multi Mission Computer.

F-16AM / BM has been used to designate MLUs commonly.