Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon (General Dynamics)

SIDI SLIMANE AIR BASE -- F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 555th Fighter Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy, arrived here, in support of Exercise African Eagle. African Eagle is a bi-annual exercise designed to practice dissimilar air to air training with the Royal Moroccan air force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Delia A. Castillo)

 Two F-16s from Aviano Air Base, Italy, drop away from the fuel boom after gassing up from a KC-135 Stratotanker over the Adriatic Sea. The jets were refueled by the New Jersey Air National Guard's 108th Air Refueling Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. The 108th ARW is part of the 16th Expeditionary Operations Group, a small U.S. Air Force detachment located on this French air base. The 16th Expeditionary Operations Group is a unit of the 16th Air Expeditionary Wing, U.S. Air Forces in Europe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dave Ahlschwede)

A formation F-16C Fighting Falcons on a flight from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., to Atlantic City International Airport, N.J. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Don Taggart)

F-16 Falcon over the pyramids at Giza, Egypt

An F-16 Fighting Falcon takes off on a mission supporting NATO's Operation Allied Force. The F-16 is deployed from the 78th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jeffrey Allen)

An F-16CJ based here appears to be flying towards a rising moon during late afternoon in March. The aircraft is being flown by Capt. Randy Efferson, 9th Air Force F-16 "Viper" Demonstration pilot. The F-16 is assigned to the 78th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Greg L. Davis)

An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 510th Fighter Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy, flys a Combat Air Patrol mission May 3, 1999. Planes flying the CAP missions provide air cover for NATO Operation Allied Force strike missions in Yuglslavia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jeffrey Allen)

 A New Mexico Air National Guard F-16C Fighting Falcon taxis out for an Operation Southern Watch patrol mission. The 188th Fighter Squadon recently joined their active duty counterparts from the 523rd Fighter Squadron, 27th Fighter Wing, to support air operations over the No-Fly, No-Drive Zone in Southern Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Greg Davis)

Tech. Sgt Daniel Gilbert, an F-16 Fighting Falcon crew chief, checks the underside of an F-16 launching at a forward deployed air base. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Terry L. Blevins)

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM -- Crew chiefs prep F-16 Fighting Falcons for Operation Iraqi Freedom night misisons at a forward-deployed air base. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt Terry L. Blevins)

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Capt. Thomas Seymour, an F-16C Fighting Falcon pilot assigned to the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron here, fires an AGM-88 high-speed antiradiation missile at a target during a March 24 test mission. The HARM is an air-to-surface missile designed to seek and destroy enemy radar-equipped air defense systems. The F-16 is the only aircraft in the Air Force capable of using the HARM. (U. S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael Ammons)

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM -- An F-16 Fighting Falcon prepares for take off on an operational sortie at a forward-deployed location March 29. According to a defense official, coalition air forces are averaging about 1,000 sorties a night after the first week of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Air Force has also dropped more than 5,000 precision-guided munitions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

Spangdahlem F-16s fly observation formation off the wing of a KC-10. KC-10 Extenders from the 305th/514th Air Mobility Wing, McGuire AFB, N.J., are deployed to Burgas Airport and nearby Camp Sarafovo, Bulgaria, to support tanker operations. Members from various Air Force units world-wide are currently deployed with the 409th AEG in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Dave Ahlschwede)

INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- Two F-16CJ Fighting Falcons from the 55th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron taxi here for the last time April 7. The fighters are returning home to Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., after supporting Operation Northern Watch for several years. Aircraft flew their last ONW mission March 17. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joseph Thompson)

SIOUX FALLS S.D. -- An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds sits on the tarmac at Joe Foss Field, S.D. The premier Air Force aerial demonstration team performed in an air show for 40,000 specatators the following day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Michael Frye)

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A NATO Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft flies with three F-16 Fighting Falcons during a recent test mission . The AWACS was here to conduct airborne interoperability testing on the Link-16, part of the F-16 Mid-Life Upgrade test program. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tom Reynolds)

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM -- A KC-10A Extender, deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing in Southwest Asia, refuels a Danish air force F-16 over Afghanistan. The F-16, operating from Ganci Air Base in the Kyrgyz Republic, is providing close air support to collation ground forces. The KC-10A’s home base is McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rachel Bush)

MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- Capt. Christopher Stricklin ejects from the USAF Thunderbirds number six aircraft less than a second before it impacted the ground at an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, Sept. 14. Stricklin, who was not injured, ejected after both guiding the jet away from the crowd of more than 60,000 people and ensuring he couldn't save the aircraft. This was only the second crash since the Air Force began using F-16 Falcons for its demonstration team in 1982. The ACES II ejection seat performed flawlessly. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

OVER IRAQ -- A pair of F-16 Fighting Falcons launch flares during a mission Aug. 18. The aircraft are assigned to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base, Iraq, and deployed from the New Mexico Air National Guard. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Scott Reed)