F-16A MLU (China)
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Contents
Description
The ␗F-16A Block 20 MLU Fighting Falcon, also known as F-16 Block 20, is a rank VIII Chinese jet fighter with a battle rating of 12.7 (AB/RB) and 13.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update "Apex Predators".
The hybrid version between the F-16A Block 15 MLU and the airframe of the F-16C exclusively for the ROCAF; this variant of F-16 provided the long-awaited, reliable multirole fighter featuring a pulse-doppler AN/APG-66 radar as well as sporting some of the latest AAMs in-game. For players who need both interception and ground-attacking capabilities, the Mavericks and LDGP bombs onboard will also make light work of any ground targets.
General info
Flight performance
Instead of Block 10 or Block 15 ADF, in ROCAF's case, their F-16A MLU (Block 20) has major differences in terms of thrust and appearance: to tell a Block 20 and others apart, there are two parts to differentiate- IFF antenna and the tail; while Block 10 has no antenna and ADF has the "bird-slicer" antenna, MLU received AN/APX-113 IFF with a rounded antenna. The tail in this case also received a drogue chute for highway strip operations. Other than that, the MLU performs mostly identically to izs counterparts with slightly less military thrust. The F-16s are known to be one of the most manoeuvrable jets with their impressive engine thrust and design features for dogfights. In most cases, jets that are an era behind the F-16 will very likely having a hard time biting onto the tail of F-16, since their relatively light weight does help in dogfights and acceleration. The F-16 is also the first mass-produced fighter to use FBW (Fly-by-wire) and in this case, instead of the physical limits of the airframe itself, it also has software limits at 9G continuous overload, so players will have to take extra caution on the speed of the jet: any high speed turns over 750 km/h will very likely trigger this limits.
| Characteristics | Max speed (km/h at _,___ m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | ___ | ___ | 15240 | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | 850 |
| Upgraded | 2198 | 2,146 | 19.3 | 19.8 | 340.7 | 295.0 | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 1,555 | 482 | N/A | 470 | 463 | ~__ | ~__ |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < ___ | < ___ | < ___ | N/A |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | |||
| Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 | 1 | 7,990 kg | ___ kg/m2 | |||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Gross Weight | ||||
| Weight (each) | Type | 8m fuel | 20m fuel | 29m fuel | ||
| 1,470 kg | Afterburning low-bypass turbofan | 8,962 kg | 10,213 kg | 11,230 kg | 16,048 kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP) | |||||
| Condition | 100% | WEP | 8m fuel | 20m fuel | 29m fuel | MGW |
| Stationary | 6,490 kgf | 8,985 kgf | 1.00 | 0.88 | 0.80 | 0.56 |
| Optimal | 7,434 kgf (1,555 km/h) |
15,225 kgf (1,400 km/h) |
1.70 | 1.49 | 1.36 | 0.95 |
Survivability and armour
Other than the airframe and alloy skins, the F-16 MLU has no extra protection for pilot or critical equipment. While the jet has equipment like self-sealing fuel tanks and EFS for the engine, if the engine does suffer from a fire, due to only having a single engine, it will still have lesser chance to make it back to the airfield.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) | CCRP (Bombs) |
 |
|
|
|
Offensive armament
The F-16A MLU (China) is armed with:
- A choice between two presets:
- 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon, wing root-mounted (512 rpg)
- 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon + 90 x countermeasures
Suspended armament
The F-16A MLU (China) can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:
- 1 x 300 gal drop tank
- 2 x AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles
- 6 x AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles
- 6 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
- 2 x AIM-7M Sparrow missiles
- 12 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (6,000 lb total)
- 4 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs (8,000 lb total)
- 6 x AGM-65B missiles
Custom loadout options
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| AGM-65B missiles | 1, 3 | 1, 3 | ||||||||
| AIM-7M Sparrow missiles | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 300 gal drop tanks | 1 |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Equipped with both SARH missiles and air-to-ground weapons, unlike their counterparts in different nations
- Impressive payload for interception missions with up to 6 x AAMs
- Impressive manoeuvrability at around 700 km/h, useful when there's the need for a dogfight
- Equipped with a drogue chute for shorter landing distance
Cons:
- Suffers from the FBW overload limits of 9G
- Rather small 20 mm ammunition count
- Engine consumes jet fuels at high rate when afterburning, will run out of fuel relatively quickly without drop tanks
- Lacks IRST sensor for target acquisition
- Not equipped with guided bombs for safer ground attacking approach
History
In the 1980s, plans were made for the ROCAF to buy F-16/79s (equipped with J79 engine and worse radar than the F-16A) and F-20 Tigersharks, but failed due to the improving Sino-US relationship as well as limitations of the 1979 Communique. In the 1990s, after the PLAAF purchased numbers of Su-27SK Flanker-B and the increase in new domestic PLAAF jets, ROCAF considered the expansion of the PLAAF to be a major threat as the ROCAF fleet still consisted of masses of obsolete F-104 and F-5E, as well as very few F-CK-1 Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF; aka Ching-Kuo 經國號) and Mirage 2000-5E/F series. In 1989, after the sale of Mirage 2000s to ROCAF, George HW Bush, who was at the time going for presidency, agreed to the sale of 150 F-16A/B alongside weaponry and maintenance equipment to the ROCAF during his election campaign and the sale was dubbed "Peace Pheasant" (和平鳳凰).
By the time this sale was approved, General Dynamics had already started the production run for the new F-16C/D series. To reduce the overhead for reopening production lines of previous models, ROCAF and GD agreed on a hybrid version - the Block 20 with F-16 Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) electronics, F100-PW-220 engine, and airframe and parts of both A and C variants to be delivered to the ROCAF. The new jet rolled off the line in July 1996, which happened to be the heat of 2nd Taiwan Strait Crisis and they were delivered to ROCAF a year later to the 455th FW at Chiayi Airbase (嘉義水上基地), then 401st FW at Hualien Airbase (花蓮基地) in 2002 for a total of 150 jets delivered (120 F-16A and 30 F-16B variants). The new jets solved the major problem of the replacement of F-104 series and strengthened ROCAF's self-defense capability. While the BVR capability was hindered by the AIM-7M Sparrows delivered alongside with the jet, during the first decade of 21st Century, the US also approved the sales of AIM-120C-5/7, AGM-65G Mavericks, and AGM-84L Harpoons for delivery in 2002 and 2007.
While the combat capability of the new 4th generation jets surpassed PLAAF in early 2000s, as the estimate of the number of 4th gens in the PLAAF had increased significantly by late 2010s, ROCAF also agreed on purchasing upgrades from Lockheed Martin (the current manufacturer of F-16) where they would receive new electronics, radar-absorbing paints, and better ECM capabilities against PLAAF aircraft. These upgrades listed on the 2011 and 2018 military sales would become what's known as the F-16V (Viper; listed as AM and BM respectively in ROCAF; dubbed Project Phoenix Soar 鳳展計劃). After the systems were finalized in the late 2010s in the US, the current fleets of F-16s would fly to Taichung Ching-Chung Kang Airbase (台中清泉崗基地) for upgrades by AIDC (漢翔航空工業), with the first of them upgraded in September 2019 while receiving an additional 66 F-16C Block 70s and AGM-158s from US to "balance" the airpower across the Taiwan Strait.
The upgraded F-16AM/BMs (sometimes dubbed a Yellow-Skin Snake 黃皮蛇 by enthusiasts from the anti-corrosion paint during upgrade) now serve as the cornerstone of the ROCAF and perform intensive CAP missions against the intensified ongoing patrol missions from PLAAF aircraft, alongside with F-CK-1s and Mirages.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
- Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| General Dynamics Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Jet Fighters | F-16A · F-16A ADF · F-16C |
| Strike Aircraft | F-111A · F-111F |
| Export | ▄F-16A ADF · ▄F-16A · ▄F-16AM · ␗F-16A MLU · F-16AJ · Netz · F-16D Barak II · F-16C Barak II |
| F-111C | |
| See also | SABCA |
| China jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | J-2 · J-4 · J-6A · J-7II · J-7D · J-7E · J-8B · J-8F · J-10A · J-11 · J-11A |
| Strike aircraft | Q-5 early · Q-5A · Q-5L · JH-7A |
| Bombers | H-5 |
| France | ␗Mirage 2000-5Ei |
| USA | ␗F-84G-21-RE · ␗F-84G-31-RE · ␗F-86F-30 · ␗F-86F-40 · ␗F-100A · ␗F-100F · ␗F-104A · ␗F-104G · ␗F-5A · ␗F-5E · ␗F-16A MLU |
| USSR | ␗MiG-9 · ␗MiG-9 (l) |
| North Korea | Shenyang F-5 |
| Pakistan | A-5C · JF-17 |
