- 24 - the deviation was cured. In other cases, the Air Force would accept the aircraft “as is” but require an adjustment of the price. Throughout the performance of Contract 2034, the F-16 underwent significant technological evolution. Aircraft manufactured later in time included the incorporation of systems and features that were not available on earlier aircraft. To distinguish aircraft with different capabilities and configurations, GENDYN designated each F-16 as belonging to a particular “block”. The first production F-16's belonged to Block 1. The higher the block number, the newer and more sophisticated the aircraft. Design changes within a block of F-16's sometimes resulted in the designation of “miniblocks”. Even within miniblocks, however, few F-16's, perhaps only two or three, were virtually identical. The aircraft sold to the Air Force under Contract 2034 belonged to Blocks 15, 25, and 30. In Block 15, GENDYN redesigned certain components of the F-16 to accept the advanced electronics and avionics systems that were then being developed under MSIP. The changes that were introduced in Block 15 were so significant that aircraft manufactured as part of the immediately preceding Block 10 could not be upgraded to the Block 15 capability. One of the major changes in Block 15 was a redesign of the F-16's wiring and cooling systems to support a new, more advanced radar system that was still under development.Page: Previous 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011