Advanced Fighter Technology Integration F-16 Program

The USAF Flight Dynamics Laboratory began the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration program in the late 1970s. Overall objectives of this joint Air Force and NASA research program were to develop and demonstrate technologies and assess alternative approaches for use in future aircraft design. In December 1978, the F-16 was selected for modification as the AFTI/F-16. General Dynamics began conversion of the sixth preproduction F-16A (USAF serial No. 75-0750) at its Forth Worth, TX, factory in March 1980. The aircraft had originally been built in 1978 for the F-16 full-scale development effort. GD built on ear­lier experience with its F-16 CCV program. The twin canted movable canard ventral fins from the F-16 CCV were installed under the inlet of the AFTI/F-16. In addition, a dorsal fairing was fitted to the top of the fuselage to accommodate extra avionics equipment. A triply redundant, asynchronous, multimode, digital flight control system with an ana­log backup was installed in the aircraft. The DFCS was integrated with improved avionics and had different control modes optimized for air – to-air combat and air-to-ground attack. The Stores Management System (SMS) was responsible for signaling requests for mode change to the DFCS. Other modifications included provision for a six-degree-of-free – dom Automated Maneuvering Attack System (AMAS), a 256-word-capac­ity Voice-Controlled Interactive Device (VCID) to control the avionics

suite, and a helmet-mounted target designation sight that could auto­matically slave the forward-looking infrared (FLIR) device and the radar to the pilot’s head movements.[1182] First flight of the modified aircraft in the AFTI/F-16 configuration occurred on July 10, 1982, from Carlswell AFB, TX, with GD test pilot Alex V. Wolfe at the controls. Following con­tractor testing, the aircraft was flown to Edwards AFB for AFTI/F-16 test effort. This was organized into two phases; Phase I was a 2-year effort focused on evaluating the DFCS, with a follow-on Phase II oriented to assessing the AMAS and other technologies.