Talking of fighter jets, one name that immediately comes to mind is F-16.In 1983, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) acquired the first batch of F-16 jetsfrom the US. The first Pakistani F-16 was flown by Squadron Leader ShahidJaved at PAF Base Sargodha which is now known as PAF Base Mushaf.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter jet. It wasinitially designed as an air superiority day fighter aircraft. It laterevolved into a formidable all-weather multirole jet.
Despite manufacturing the JF-17 fighters in collaboration with China inFebruary 2010, F-16s still remain relevant in the national aerial defenseand they will continue to do so in coming years.
Before inducting the JF-17s, PAF also used A-5C, J-7, Mirage III, andMirage V jets to guard the aerial boundaries of Pakistan for decades.
F-16s, JF-17s, and the recently inducted J10-Cs now constitute the primaryaerial defense of the country. PAF inducted the J-10C fighter jets afteracquiring them from China in just eight months rather than years thatdefense manufacturers normally take to deliver a fighter jet such as theJ-10C.
The J-10C fighter jet is a multi-role combat aircraft capable ofall-weather operations. It is primarily designed for air-to-air combat butit can perform strike missions as well.
In the last article of this special series, we compared JF-17 and J-10C. Inthe latest edition, we are going to compare F-16 and J-10C. So withoutfurther ado, let’s dive straight into it.Basic Description
While the F-16 is lighter than J-10C and belongs to a previous generation,both have a similar engine and are designed for a similar role.*Attributes* *F-16* *J-10C*Weight Light-weight Medium-weightEngine Single-engine Single-engineGeneration 4th generation 4.5thgenerationRole Multi-role Multi-roleGeneral Characteristics
The length of F-16 is shorter than J-10C while its fuel capacity is alsosignificantly lower than J-10C. Both jets have almost similar remainingfeatures.*Features* *F-16* *J-10C*Crew 2 1Length 49 feet 5 inches 55 feet 2 inchesWingspan 32 feet 8 inches 32 feet 2 inchesHeight 16 feet 18 feet 8 inchesWing area 300 sq. ft. 400 sq. ft.Empty weight 8,936 kg 9,750 kgMax takeoff weight 16,875 kg 19,277 kgFuel capacity 8,618 kg 7,380 kgPowerplant 1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 afterburning turbofan, 79 kNthrust dry, 131.5 kN with afterburner 1 x WS-10B afterburning turbofanengines, 89.17 kN thrust dry, 142 kN with afterburnerPerformance
F-16 has a superior maximum speed and ferry range compared to the J-10. Therest of the characteristics are almost identical.*Characteristics* *F-16* *J-10C*Maximum Speed Mach 2.05 Mach 1.8Ferry Range 4,217 km 2,950 kmService ceiling 58,000 feet 56,000 feetG limits +9 +9/-3Thrust/weight 1.09 1.10Armament
Both jets are loaded with a wide range of guns, rockets, air-to-airmissiles, and air-to-surface missiles.*Weapons* *F-16* *J-10C*Guns 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel rotary cannon, 511 rounds 1×Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23Hardpoints 2 × wing-tip air-to-air missile launch rails, 6 × under-wing,and 3 × under-fuselage pylon (2 of 3 for sensors) stations with a capacityof up to 7,700 kg of stores 11 (6× under-wing, 2× under-intake and 3×under-fuselage) with a capacity of 5600 kg of external fuel and ordnanceRockets LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19/7 × Hydra 70 mm/APKWSrockets, respectively
LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19 × CRV7 70 mm rockets)
LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4 × Zuni 127 mm rockets)90 mm unguided rocketAir-to-air Missiles AIM-9 Sidewinder
AIM-120 AMRAAM
IRIS-T
Python-4
Python-5PL-8
PL-10
PL-12
PL-15Air-to-surface Missles AGM-65 Maverick
AGM-88 HARM
AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM)
AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)KD-88
YJ-91Anti-ship Missiles AGM-84 Harpoon
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AGM-119 Penguin–Bombs CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition
CBU-89 Gator mine
CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon
Mark 84 general-purpose bombs
Mark 83 GP bombs
Mark 82 GP bombs
GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)
GBU-10 Paveway II
GBU-12 Paveway II
GBU-24 Paveway III
GBU-27 Paveway III
Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) series
Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD)
B61 nuclear bomb
B83 nuclear bomb250 kg and 500 kg Pre-fragmented bomb
LT-2
LS-6
GB3
GB2A
GB3A
FT-1Avionics*F-16* *J-10C*AN/APG-68 radar Type 1473H pulse-doppler fire control radarMIL-STD-1553 bus K/JDC01A targeting podType Hongguang-I infra-red search and track podCM-802AKG targeting pod for KD-88 and YJ-91KG600 electronic countermeasure podBlue Sky navigation/attack podVariants*F-16* *J-10C*F-16A J-10AF-16B J-10AHF-16C J-10SF-16D J-10SHF-16E J-10BF-16F J-10B TVC DemonstratorF-16IN J-10CF-16IQ J-10CEF-16NF-16VQF-16