Prototype Program Office News Today

The program was called the Lightweight Fighter Competition, or LWF, and the end result was not one, but two living legends in the world of fourth-generation fighter jets: the F-16 Fighting Falcon, known to her pilots and crew chiefs as “The Viper,” and the F-18 Hornet.

The fast and agile F-16 Fighting Falcon isn't just one of the top fighters it is also among the most cost-effective. Though it lacks the range and payload of the larger twin-engine F-15 Eagle, it also costs less than half – which is why the fourth-generation F-16 has been in use since the 1970s and will likely keep flying for many more years to come.

In 1972 the Air Forces Prototype Program Office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, launched the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program, and the request for proposals (RFP) called for a highly maneuverable fighter with a significant emphasis on reduced weight but also cost. The program wasnt originally intended to lead to a production aircraft, but rather to determine what was possible at what cost. While five contractors competed for the LWF two finalists emerged – General Dynamics and Northrop, which...