F-16 Fighting Falcon: History, Performance & Discussion

Isn’t Link 16 typically omni directional?

Well, the can of worms is already open.
A-10C got added with datalink with the last major update.
Though, the datalink currently isn’t properly implemented like e.g. radars and RWRs are. It has no radio communications. It just works automagically (I think it’s implemented as part of the Scorpion HMD code).

Is there a source for that?
I do find it odd that Fox 3s would continuously STT lock the target from 16km away.
But that would only affect RWRs that can’t classify targets. RWRs that classify targets (assuming they have the fingerprint / signal pattern for that seeker in their database) would still be able to classify it as an incoming ARH missile and give the appropriate warning.

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I meant whatever the signal the plane uses to guide amraams, a big cone infront of antenna( Larger than the main beamwidth itself)

Matches in top tier. Once amraams go active, anything inside the cone will get a rwr warning. Not only the plane thats getting targeted will get the warning.

Why would the seeker scan around once it knows the target? Lock it and don’t lose it. On terminal guidance you need constant information for the guidance computer for any corrections. You’d increase the chance of losing the target if he chaffs or employs ecm.

16km

Closure rate is high and those ranges may vary. On the phoenix if the f14 RIO selects target size - small, its 6NM~ 11km.

To know its a ARH missile you could identify it with the higher than usual PRF required due to the high closure rates.

As for the recording of the RWR, that would mostly fall to SIGINT, not the fighter itself. Recording all frequency ranges would take alot of memory. One giga is 1,000,000,000 Hz. Even if you separate into 10kHz blocks you’d have 100,000 values to store in the memory. And thats just for an instant. How many times do you do it? Every 50 ms( Do mind that radars to measure range use frequency modulation and they change rates at values like every 8.6 ms so you might miss them for proper sigint)? 20 per second. 2,000,000 values every second. Now what about every 25 ms? 4 million. Lets say you want to cover 4GHz. 16 million values. It will eat memory. Not telling you its not possible, but look at limitations of the era(memory sizes). It’s easy to say record, look later but you gotta do the recording part first.

Also, RF space is congested. You gotta filter ALOOOOOOT. And waveforms aren’t simple long continuous waves you can say, hey I see xy frequency in the spectrum and it must be from something. You have them using pulses( could be short as 1.5 micro seconds) followed by 1.5μs to 2500μs of nothingness where the radar just listens for its signal. The frequency of the pulse trains gradually increase/decrease frequency then after couple milliseconds increase/decrease at a higher or lower rate. Then you could have the single pulse change frequency( pulse compression). Then you could see be seeing 2 signals from 2 different contacts arriving because they have 2 different frequencies but no, in reality is just 1 plane doing 1s and 0s with those 2 frequencies.

Hell how you they classify unknown? How constant must it be? For example the apg 65 occasionally throws a burst for accurate ranging purpuses, that burst will have length, pulses a width, a PRF different than the standard waveform. Assuming its long enough to appear, would the receiving RWR mark it as a unknown or what?

Rather just leave that job to sigint and capabilities are unknown.

A Block 25 would be cool

Today I got my F-16C Block 40 Barak II. The turn rate is 22.5 sec at best. Compairing to Block 15 or Block 50, we see 19sec.

Block 40 Barak II is in fact the only F-16C in game with such a bad turn rate.

Are you comparing stat cards?

Yes and in flight. I cannot run out properly a Su27 with a Barak, while I can on the US F-16C

Barak-II has almost same weight that Block-50 has while having weaker engine, so it makes sense.

In terms of flight performance Block-40 is the worst one, still i think both Barak-II version does have same flight performance and weight which shouldnt be the case.

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Correct, F-16D with the dorsal spine should never be the same as the F-16C without, even if counting in the additional CM.

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The Israeli Barak-II has an F110-GE-100 Engine with more thrust and larger intake than the Block-50. It hast almost the same thrust as the F100-GE-129.
Barak-II F110-GE-100: 128.9 kN
Block 50 F110-GE-129: 131.6 kN

I think the performance of the Barak-II F-16C is not correctly modelled.

Wrong.

Barak-II has less powerful engine then Block-50.

I dont know how you come with that result but its completely wrong, as i said before Block-40 is the worst F-16 in terms flight performance in both game and real life.

But yes ingame F-16C Barak-II does have wrong flight performance.

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No, is not. Its a fact that Israeli Air Force has a upgraded F-16C Block 40. They modified the inlet and added a F110-GE-100 Engine. They did not use the standard Block 40 PW engine which indeed has less thrust.

Barak-2 F-16C remains in service. The less powerful Barak-1 (Block 30) was retired from IAF

And sorry for my Typo its F110-GE-129 ;-)

F-16C Block-50 uses F-110-GE-129 engine which produces significantly more power than GE-100 at any speed, also starting with Block-40 all F-16’s does have bigger air intake in order to feed new GE engines more efficiently.

Buddy i dont know how or where but you’re making a huge mistake.

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General Electric, you can read in specs, delivers the information. Find it on their web site.
-100 has 128.9 kN and the -129 has 131.6 kN

For me this is not what I call “significantly more power”

The Pratt & Whitney PW-220 delivers installed in Block 40 deliver 105 kN only!

Israel does have the General Electric. Besides this IDF die enlarge the inlet from the standard Block 40.

You’re only looking at static thrust while completely ignoring performance charts.

Thats your problem, plus American version also uses bigger intakes and better engine.

Difference between GE-100 and 129 is almost 14-20% dude.

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From Block 30 onwards, every block that ends with “0” always have GE engine equipped and the ones that end with “2” are equipped with PW engines. Also the difference between those 2 engines are marginal since the “big mouth” Block 30. So basically every aircraft aside from some early batch “small mouth” Block 30s have modified, bigger inlets to let those GE engines breath better at lower speeds.

Israeli Block 40s are not really unique in that regard. Not only that, Block 40 has some more added weight over Block 30 with the same F-110-100 engine which makes it a worse performer, similar case goes for the Block 50 but since it has more oomph with the upgraded engine it will outperform Block 40.

Long story short; unless Israeli Block-40s are equipped with upgraded GE engines I do not believe that they’ll perform on par with Block 50s in any case.

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