- Yes
- No
F-16AM (F-16V)
History
Between the late 90’s to the mid 2010’s the Republic of China’s air force’s (ROCAF) F-16A Block 20’s were fairly formidable in keeping the peace between the straits. The F-16’s along with the Mirage 2000-5EI and F-CK-1A kept the ROCAF at a near balance to the People Liberations Army Air Force (PLAAF’s) fighters. However with China’s fast development next generation fighters and increasing numbers, the balance was quickly being offset. Taiwan originally wanted F-35’s to help keep the balance however the US was apprehensive in selling them their latest generation fighter so the decision to upgrade the current F-16 fleet was made.
In late 2011 an arms sale was agreed upon to bring the F-16’s to 4.5 gen standard. The plan was to upgrade them with an ASEA radar, joint helmet aiming system, AIM-9X, AN/A LQ-213 electronic warfare management system, JDAM’s, Have Glass II radar absorbing paint, and an upgrade to the F100-PW-229 EEP engine. The AN/APG-83 SABR was chosen as the radar however the original engine was kept and not upgraded to the F100-PW-229 EEP engine. The upgrade would eventually become known as F-16V (with V standing for Viper the F-16’s nickname given by pilots). Its other name is the F-16AM and both are be used interchangeably when talking about the ROCAF F-16’s.
The maiden flight of the F-16V happened on October 16 2015 at Edwards Air Force Base with the ROCAF’s own F-16 number 6601 (flown by USAAF) as the test model.
In 2013 an agreement was reached between Lockheed and AIDC to upgrade the rest of the F-16 fleet on Taiwan with the first two being upgraded in the U.S. The first F-16V was delivered to Taiwan on October 19 2018 and the fleet was fully upgraded in 2023.
Taiwan has also ordered 66 F-16C Block 70’s (also called F-16V) which are expected to arrive in the next few years. The main difference between the block 70’s and the AM are conformal fuel tanks and a better engine.
Specifications (based on the 2011 order and previous systems, some details may have changed):
Length: 47 feet 8 inch (15.02 meters)
Wing span: 31 feet (9.45 meters)
Height: 16 feet 8 in. (5.09 meters)
Engine: Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 turbofan engine Military thrust 14,590 pounds (64.9 kN) Maximum thrust 23,770 pounds (105.7 kN)
Top speed: Mach 2
Armaments:
1 x M61 Vulcan
AIM-9M
AIM-9X block II
AIM-120C-7 & 8
AGM-88B HARM
AGM-154C
AGM-84H
AGM-84L-1 Harpoon Block II
AGM-65G2
GBU-12 Paveway II
GBU-10 Paveway II
GBU-24 Paveway III
MK 82 500lb bomb
MK 84 2000lb bomb
GBU-31V1 JDAM
GBU-38 JDAM
Countermeasures/ protection:
DFRM w/ AN/ALQ-184 or AN/ALQ-213(v9) or AN/ALQ-131
Have Glass II
AN/ALE-47
AN/ALR-56M
AN/ALE-50
Avionics:
AN/APG-83 SABR
APX-113 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe Combined Interrogator Transponders
Center Pedestal Display
Link 16 Datalink
Night Vision Imaging System
Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System II
Embedded GPS/INS
MS-110
Other:
AN/VDS-5 LOROP-EO
BRU-57 smart multiple carriage rack
AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting pod
LANTIRN
In game
In game this variant of the F-16V would be one of the ultimate fighters for the ROCAF fighter line and would probably be the second to last fighter in the line (with the F-16C block 70 on top). With Helmet mounted capabilities paired with the AIM-9X block II it would be a very dangerous close combat dogfighter and also very dangerous in Beyond visual range combat with the AIM-120C-7 and 8’s. Furthermore with its massive selection of advanced and basic air to ground weaponry it can bring the pain to ground targets as well. Either by providing close air support in ground battles or by bombing bases and killing targets in air battles the F-16AM would be one of the ultimate multi role fighter for the Republic of China (Taiwan) line.
Sources
Spoiler
F-16V Takes Flight · Lockheed Martin
AIDC, Lockheed iron out details of Taiwan F-16 upgrade | News | Flight Global
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/2586462?utm_medium=P
Taiwan Achieves F-16V Full Operational Capability - The Aviationist
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/f-16v接裝升級-3-圖-092124216.html
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20211118002484-260407?chdtv
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/f16v潛力裝掛-準備掛載響尾蛇飛彈-圖-100151101.html
https://airwingspotter.com/f-16v-viper-upgrade/
https://udn.com/news/story/7324/6544795
Comic that showcases the ROCAF F-16AM and other fighters.
燃燒的西太平洋|beanfun! 漫畫星