General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon operators

The F-16 was reintroduced to the aggressor role for the US Navy with the acquisition of some of the Pakistani F-16A/B-15OCU aircraft embargoed before delivery to that country and they remain in use today at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC) at NAS Fallon, Nevada.

[11] Units:[citation needed] Slovakia had been looking to replace its aging fleet of MiG-29s since at least 2014, when an option of leasing Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters was considered.

The Portuguese Air Force chose the F-16 during the 1980s to replace its aging and obsolescent LTV A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft which were no longer suitable for air-to-air combat and were facing severe logistical problems.

In August 1990 the government of then-Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva signed a Letter Of Acceptance (LoA) which lead to the creation of the Peace Atlantis I program.

The funds used for the purchase were made available through the Foreign Military Sales program, partly a payment for the use by the United States of Lajes Air Base in the Azores.

In 1999, during the Portuguese participation in the conflict (Operation Allied Force), the three F-16 fighters deployed by Portugal were relegated to escort missions and combat air patrols due to their lack of modern armament and air-to-ground targeting systems.

[37] Due to budget constraints, the purchase of refurbished U.S. aircraft failed, and on 27 September 2012, Romania's Supreme Defense Council approved a plan to buy 12 used F-16s from Portugal in a deal worth 670 million euros.

[39] Legislation regarding the F-16 deal was passed by the country's Chamber of Deputies in June 2013 and on 12 July 2013, Romanian President Traian Băsescu formally approved the purchase.

On 24 March 2019, the Turkish State Secretariat for Defence officially confirmed that a further upgrade with ASELSAN for the modernisation of THK's entire F-16 fleet with a domestic AESA radar and a new indigenous EW-self-protection suite by 2021.

[73] On 5 February 2024, Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren announced the Netherlands would send six additional F-16s, following the cancellation of the planned sale to private military aircraft operator Draken International.

The IAF achieved the type's first air-to-air victories when its F-16s shot down two aircraft, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter and a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter plane, both Syrian, in April and July 1981 respectively.

[95] In July 2013, Israel began a program called Teuza (boldness) for the purpose of turning some military bases into sales lots for obsolete IDF equipment.

New ground was broken with this Foreign military Sales program: taking 'used' F-16s from the desert (AMARC), completely refurbishing and modifying them and delivering the aircraft to the customer within a 17-month time frame.

On October 14, 1997, Lt. Col. Scott Curtis, flying safety officer at Hill AFB, pushed the throttles forward and released the brakes on his F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.

[110] In May 2002, the Sultanate of Oman signed an agreement with the U.S. government to purchase 12 Advanced Block 50 F-16s in the PEACE A'SAMA A'SAFIYA ("Clear Skies") Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

[113] The aircraft has been developed especially for the United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) and features improved AN/APG-80 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, avionics, conformal fuel tanks (CFTs), and the more powerful General Electric F110-GE-132 engine.

In May 2009, the South Korean government announced an upgrade plan for its KF-16C/D fleet's radar and armament, as part of the 2010-2014 arms acquisition and management package being submitted to President Lee Myung-bak for approval.

Key upgrades will include new radars to replace the existing APG-68v5/v7 systems, avionics and computers, and improving cabling and databuses to MIL-STD-1760 so that the aircraft will be able to carry GPS-guided weapons, AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, and other new equipment.

President Barack Obama agreed to a $5.3 billion deal to upgrade Taiwan's current fleet of F-16A/B Block 20s to a configuration similar to that of the proposed F-16V standard with active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars.

[167] Venezuela has been seeking two attrition replacements for lost F-16s since late 1997,[168] but has not been able to obtain them due to financial problems and souring relations between the United States and the government of President Hugo Chávez.

[178] In July 2023 the Biden administration sent a notifications to the US Congress for authorization to sell up to 38 second-hand Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets to Argentine Air Force.

[189] This nearly led to the stepping down of the Bulgarian Air Force Commander at the time, Rumen Radev, as a protest against the Defence Ministry's plan to conduct joint air-policing missions.

[194] In October 2016, it was alleged that technical specifications for the procurement had been altered to favor the F-16, which led to several Bulgarian members of parliament to request comments from the Minister of Defence.

[207] On 12 June 2024, the specialized website Janes, reported an ongoing negotiation between the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and USAF for 24 F-16s from the US stocks, possibly Block 40/42.

[216] In April 2018, Colombia was offered surplus Israeli Air Force F-16A/B "Netz" and F-16C/D "Barak" aircraft by Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.

[218] The F-16IN is based closely on the F-16E/F Block 60 and features conformal fuel tanks, an AN/APG-80 AESA radar, a GE F110-132A engine with FADEC controls, an electronic warfare suite, an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, an updated all-color glass cockpit, and a helmet-mounted cueing system.

[220][221] Ashton Carter, chief of The Pentagon's acquisition department, even raised the possibility of United States offering the F-35 Lightning II to India as a follow-on to the F-16IN.

[253] It was revealed later that month that Mattis rejected Netanyahu's request to sell the F-16s, unless Israeli upgrades were removed and the aircraft were sold in their original configuration, to which the Croatian government responded by stating they would cancel the deal if this were the case.

[262] In December 1998, the National Party, under the leadership of Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, had given approval for the Royal New Zealand Air Force to acquire 28 F-16A/B Block 15s following their embargoed sale to Pakistan[263] under a 10-year lease-buy arrangement as an interim replacement for its fleet of ageing A-4 Skyhawks.

[264] In a controversial move the acquisition was cancelled by the new incoming Labour government under Helen Clark in March 2000 citing a benign security environment in which "an air combat force is not a priority".