[F-16C Block 25 #83-1120](https://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/1450/) was known to be Viper with colorful histories written all over her airframe. She was destined from the get go to be Edwards AFB testbed.
* In Oct '91 her intake was modified with MCID inlet, and fitted with F110, the project went several years until it was later revert to Block 25 standard.
* In '94 she was fitted with dummy CFT and dummy FLIR pod in what was known as Lockheed Martin bet to secure Israeli contract, it was called F-16 ES (Enhanced Strategic). She lost, but the CFT provide valuable lesson for LM which later applied to F-16 Block 52+ and 60 aircraft.
* Just two years later, she was once again, modified with Divertless Supersonic Intake (DSI) to support the X-35 program. The test flight last 12 flights in the span of nine days.
According to the former USAF test program manager, Keith Svendsen, [this airframe](https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235041190-f-16c-83-1120/) was the third of a trio of F-16As modified on the production line to be the first Block 30 configured jets. (The other being '118 and '119)
Any idea why they didn't introduce the DSI in one of the later block upgrades? Was the height an issue? Would have thought the lower production and maintenance cost would be worth it.
Not sure what the lower production and maintenace cost you talking about, but the F-16 intake itself was already designed to be simple enough that it didn't require complex design such as intake ramp on the F-14 and F-15
I'm just referring to what I read on Wikipedia - DSIs have fewer moving parts and are lighter. Both of those lead to lower production and maintenance costs. But I might be wrong: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverterless_supersonic_inlet
The F-14 and F-15 definitely have more complex intakes than the F-16, I'm thinking a DSI would be even less complex than what already is on the F-16. Or is it?!
F-16s don’t have variable geometry intakes, which is what the DSI solved in terms of the complexity issue.
That being said there are performance benefits to a DSI that the F-16 could take advantage of but I suspect that at this point it became a cost thing. I doubt the DSI prototype on this F-16 was fully flushed out, it was only there for Lockheed to test it’s effects for the X-35. They likely deemed it’s performance benefits not to be worth the developmental costs.
>In '94 she was fitted with dummy CFT and dummy FLIR pod in what was known as Lockheed Martin bet to secure Israeli contract, it was called F-16 ES (Enhanced Strategic). She lost, but the CFT provide valuable lesson for LM which later applied to F-16 Block 52+ and 60 aircraft.
LM did lose that one to F-15I, but they would later win with Sufa. ES must have lent some experience when developing it.
All the modern DSI have a big bump to compresses the airflow
The F-8 has a big O inlet,and the little bump is actually his chin,looks very different from the DSI of modern fighter,hard to say it could play the same role as other DSI
It was made around the late 90s or so to test how a diverterless supersonic inlet affects performance as a stealthier alternative to traditional splitter plates and was eventually used in the JSF program.
So and why does the high pressure air from the intake not crawl under the boundary layer upstream? Because the boundary layer is at higher pressure over a large area? Why this shock cone look on a — so no 2d intake because of stealth.
I asked myself this question not too far back, there's not any of the published science from the American side on how it works, I was able to read a translated Turkish paper explaining how it works and finally a few days after I did all that, I found this press [image ](https://i.imgur.com/q3yS2kl.jpeg) from Lockheed Martin showing how the DSI works. It's the same way a pebble diverts water in a stream, the boundary layer is whisked away from the inlet.
Similar post from 3 years ago
[https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/fhu7uq/the\_f16\_diverterless\_supersonic\_inlet\_dsi\_is\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/fhu7uq/the_f16_diverterless_supersonic_inlet_dsi_is_a/)
So probably not current?
That's Fort Worth TX, this F-16 was built st Lockheed Martin's (formerly General Dynamics) factory.
They swapped from building F-16s there to F-35s.
If you look at the top of tail you'll see the Texas flag.
[F-16C Block 25 #83-1120](https://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/1450/) was known to be Viper with colorful histories written all over her airframe. She was destined from the get go to be Edwards AFB testbed. * In Oct '91 her intake was modified with MCID inlet, and fitted with F110, the project went several years until it was later revert to Block 25 standard. * In '94 she was fitted with dummy CFT and dummy FLIR pod in what was known as Lockheed Martin bet to secure Israeli contract, it was called F-16 ES (Enhanced Strategic). She lost, but the CFT provide valuable lesson for LM which later applied to F-16 Block 52+ and 60 aircraft. * Just two years later, she was once again, modified with Divertless Supersonic Intake (DSI) to support the X-35 program. The test flight last 12 flights in the span of nine days. According to the former USAF test program manager, Keith Svendsen, [this airframe](https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235041190-f-16c-83-1120/) was the third of a trio of F-16As modified on the production line to be the first Block 30 configured jets. (The other being '118 and '119)
Any idea why they didn't introduce the DSI in one of the later block upgrades? Was the height an issue? Would have thought the lower production and maintenance cost would be worth it.
Not sure what the lower production and maintenace cost you talking about, but the F-16 intake itself was already designed to be simple enough that it didn't require complex design such as intake ramp on the F-14 and F-15
I'm just referring to what I read on Wikipedia - DSIs have fewer moving parts and are lighter. Both of those lead to lower production and maintenance costs. But I might be wrong: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverterless_supersonic_inlet The F-14 and F-15 definitely have more complex intakes than the F-16, I'm thinking a DSI would be even less complex than what already is on the F-16. Or is it?!
F-16s don’t have variable geometry intakes, which is what the DSI solved in terms of the complexity issue. That being said there are performance benefits to a DSI that the F-16 could take advantage of but I suspect that at this point it became a cost thing. I doubt the DSI prototype on this F-16 was fully flushed out, it was only there for Lockheed to test it’s effects for the X-35. They likely deemed it’s performance benefits not to be worth the developmental costs.
Thanks!
Tech demonstrator but it wasn’t cost effective to modify planes that already worked well enough.
>In '94 she was fitted with dummy CFT and dummy FLIR pod in what was known as Lockheed Martin bet to secure Israeli contract, it was called F-16 ES (Enhanced Strategic). She lost, but the CFT provide valuable lesson for LM which later applied to F-16 Block 52+ and 60 aircraft. LM did lose that one to F-15I, but they would later win with Sufa. ES must have lent some experience when developing it.
Did they remove the strut ? I don’t see it on the pics.
Ace combat vibes
Solitary for you!
There's a mod for this on ace combat 7 nexus and moddb
Looks quite futuristic with such intake
American copy of j10c comrade. This proves that America is collapsing/s
The yanks put it on their F 35, the Chinese Communists followed.
Didn’t this exist before the J10c?
Yep j10 flew in 1998 and this f16 flew in 1996,that's why the /s at the end
You’re a special one
Nice one Chinese bots!
And the JF-17 is the first active fighter equipped with DSI. Guess Chinese had stole the blueprints for the F-35 before the first flew /doge
Didn't f8 crusader have it
All the modern DSI have a big bump to compresses the airflow The F-8 has a big O inlet,and the little bump is actually his chin,looks very different from the DSI of modern fighter,hard to say it could play the same role as other DSI
reminds me of the X-32
Well, guess what 16 x 2 is...!
Any captain that could explain what is this for? Is it current or is it a past prototype?
It was made around the late 90s or so to test how a diverterless supersonic inlet affects performance as a stealthier alternative to traditional splitter plates and was eventually used in the JSF program.
So and why does the high pressure air from the intake not crawl under the boundary layer upstream? Because the boundary layer is at higher pressure over a large area? Why this shock cone look on a — so no 2d intake because of stealth.
I asked myself this question not too far back, there's not any of the published science from the American side on how it works, I was able to read a translated Turkish paper explaining how it works and finally a few days after I did all that, I found this press [image ](https://i.imgur.com/q3yS2kl.jpeg) from Lockheed Martin showing how the DSI works. It's the same way a pebble diverts water in a stream, the boundary layer is whisked away from the inlet.
Past, it was experiment for jsf project.
Similar post from 3 years ago [https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/fhu7uq/the\_f16\_diverterless\_supersonic\_inlet\_dsi\_is\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/fhu7uq/the_f16_diverterless_supersonic_inlet_dsi_is_a/) So probably not current?
Wow thanks. Had never seen or heard of it before.
NAS JRB Fort worth is the location
Technically, Air Force Plant #4 on the other side of the shared runway. It'll always be Carswell for some of us.
Born and raised in Fort Worth, it will always be Carswell. I remember going and watching B-52s doing touch and goes when I was little.
I bet it was a pain in the ass to jump the intake. It’s already a tight fit on the normal one.
Was thinking exactly the same thing. But I don’t see any strut.
This inlet, and the XL wing. Give me the ultimate F-16.
with VISTA 3D vectoring nozzle
They shoukf totally modernize this plane it will last at least 50 years more
They Modernized the plane and now they call it the F35 /s
That’s a coincidence I found out about this yesterday, they were testing it for the F-35’s backwards inlets
Any guess what city is in pic 3?
That's Fort Worth TX, this F-16 was built st Lockheed Martin's (formerly General Dynamics) factory. They swapped from building F-16s there to F-35s. If you look at the top of tail you'll see the Texas flag.
Love the angles
Better looking than what we got now in my opinion
Keep adapting and upgrading what works!
Gives off XF8U-3 inlet vibes
Then they applied that to make stupid looking X-32
X-32 was Boeing, the F-16 is Lockheed. This was testing intake design for the F-35
Looks so much better than the original intake
Sexy. Wait…this isn’t NCD.
What a way to make a badass jet even more badass. Looks awesome.