Name: General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon F-16C/D (Block 25/30/32/40/42/50/52/52+)
Brand: General Dynamics

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon F-16C/D (Block 25/30/32/40/42/50/52/52+)

The most numerous and evolved version, single-seat (C) and two-seat (D), Blocks 25 through 52+.

Updated: August 26, 2026

Image pending

June 19, 1984

First flight

4,220 km

Range

History

The F-16C/D, first flown 19 June 1984, introduced the Multi-Stage Improvement Program (MSIP) avionics: APG-68 radar, expanded multirole capability and a cockpit compatible with precision-guided munitions. It was built on two parallel engine lines: Blocks 30/40/50 with General Electric F110 engines and Blocks 32/42/52 with Pratt & Whitney F100, reaching 129 kN thrust on the Block 50/52 F110-GE-129/F100-PW-229. Blocks 40/42 ("Night Falcon") added the LANTIRN system for night precision strike, and Block 52+ introduced optional conformal fuel tanks and more modern avionics, bridging toward Block 60 and Block 70/72.

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Key data

Aircraft type	second-generation multirole fighter, the most-produced of the family
Length	15 m
Wingspan	10 m
Height	5.1 m
Wing area	27.9 m²
Empty weight	8,573 kg
MTOW	21,772 kg
Top speed	2,178 km/h at 12,190 m
Cruise speed	933 km/h
Service ceiling	15,240 m
Initial climb rate	254 m/s
Range	4,220 km
Ferry range	4,215 km
Combat radius	1,255 km
Powerplant	1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 o General Electric F110-GE-129 (según planta motriz elegida por el operador; bloques tempranos: F100-PW-220/F110-GE-100)
Thrust per engine	129 kN
Max weapons load	7,711 kg
Payload	0 kg
Crew	1

Powerplant

1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 or General Electric F110-GE-129, 129 kN

Armament

One 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan rotary cannon with 500 rounds in the port wing root. Nine stores stations —six under the wings and three under the fuselage, two of them reserved for sensors— plus two wingtip rails, carrying up to 17,000 lb of external stores. Air-to-air: AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, IRIS-T, Python-4 and Python-5. Air-to-surface: AGM-65 Maverick, AGM-88 HARM and AGM-158 JASSM. Anti-ship: AGM-84 Harpoon and AGM-119 Penguin. Unguided Mark 82, Mark 83 and Mark 84 bombs; GBU-10, GBU-12, GBU-24 and GBU-27 Paveway guided bombs, JDAM, GBU-39 SDB and AGM-154 JSOW; CBU-87, CBU-89 and CBU-97 dispensers; Hydra 70, CRV7 and Zuni rockets. It retains tactical nuclear capability for the B61 and B83 bombs.

Cargo capacity

None. The F-16C is a single-seat fighter —the F-16D being its two-seat operational conversion trainer— with no cargo hold and no passenger cabin: its cargo and passenger capacity is nil, and the whole useful load is carried on external hardpoints and counted as ordnance.

Range conditions

With two 370-gallon underwing tanks and one 300-gallon centreline tank, combat radius is 1,255 km on a strike mission with two Mark 84 bombs and two air-to-air missiles, and 1,605 km in the air-to-air configuration with two AIM-9 and two AIM-120. On a hi-lo-hi mission with four 1,000 lb bombs the radius drops to about 546 km. Operational range is 4,220 km and ferry range, with two 600-gallon tanks and one 300-gallon tank, 4,215 km.