- Yes
- No
Description:The story of the F16’s in Italy began before 2000 in the 90’s, when Italy had in service a lot of F104 S, ASA, and ASA M that were planned to be replaced with the Eurofighter Thypoon, but the project and the construction of the EFA were very slow, and for that reason Italy asked some nations to lease some fighter aircraft to stop the gap between the withdrawal of the Starfighter and the entry into service of the Eurofighter. The first nation was Britain, which agreed to lease 24 Tornado ADV aircraft. When the Leasibg program ended, it was intended to lease the ADV for 10 additional years, but the cost was too high, and the project was cancelled. The second nation that accepted the leasing projects for Italy was the USA. In 2003, a contract was signed for 5 years (plus 5 more additional years if needed) for 34 F16 Falcon. The program was worth a total of 777 million dollars, and the estimated duration was 10 years. Were delivered a total of 1 BLock 1B + 26 A Blocks (15 ADF) + 1 Block 15 B + 2 Block 5 B + 1 Block 10 B + 4 Block 10A. This one in the Specific was a block 5, the MM7266. The aircraft served in the Italian air force from the 2003 to the 2010 when it was sent back to the USA. It remained in service until the 2018 when it was scrapped in Tucson.After the story of this aircraft, let’s move on to its characteristics: the engine was the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 with a total of 127 kn of thrust that gave the aircraft a maximum speed of 2156 km/h and a maximum service ceiling of 18000 meters. The radar is the AN/ANPG 66, and it was able to carry a total of 60 countermeasures. About the armaments, it was able to carry the same weapons as the F16 A Block 10 already in the game (Mk82,Mk83, BLU27, AGM65Mavericks, GBU8, AIM9L, Mighty Mouse).
Why it should be in the game: While the Block 10 A/B can go to the TT, this one can be a very good coiche for an event veichle
Specifications:
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Armaments:
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20 mm Vulcan rotary cannon
6x AIM9L
6X AIM9L/I1
6x AGM65 Maverik
4x GBU8
19x MK82
19x MK82 snakeye
4x MK84 LDGP Air
4x MK84
114x Mighty Mouse rokets dispenser
6x BLU27
Sources:
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F-16.net - The ultimate F-16, F-35 and F-22 reference
Amarcord: gli F-16 Viper dell'Aeronautica Militare Italiana - Aviation Report
F-16.net - The ultimate F-16, F-35 and F-22 reference
Italian F-16 in details - The Aviationist
The AMARC Experience - Italian 'Peace Caesar' F-16 Fighting Falcons
Pictures:
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