F-16C

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The F-16C Fighting Falcon, often called the Viper, is a single-engine multi-role fighter jet airplane. The F-16 was created by General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) and operated by the United States Air Force and numerous other militaries. Despite the "F" (fighter) designation, it is designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions and can use an array of weapons and sensors; built into the Viper is a 20mm cannon as well as a multifunction radar. The DCS F-16C models a Block 50 aircraft with the new F110-GE-129 engine and the Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) avionics upgrade.

Weapons List

Implemented

Partially or fully implemented weapons of the F-16C Viper:

Planned

Weapons not yet implemented into the Viper:

  • BDU-33, BDU-50LD/HD Training Bombs
  • Mk-82LDGP, Mk-82AIR, Mk-84LDGP LGB
  • CBU-87 CEM, CBU-97 SFW, CBU-103, CBU-105 Cluster Bombs
  • 2.75” LAU-68, LAU-131 Rockets
  • AIM-9L/M/P/X Sidewinder
  • AIM-120B/C AMRAAM
  • M61A1 20mm Cannon
  • AGM-65D/G/H/K Maverick
  • AGM-88C HARM
  • GBU-10, GBU-12, GBU-24
  • BRU-57/A
  • GBU-31/A, GBU-38/B JDAM
  • AGM-154A/B JSOW
  • ALE-50 Towed Decoy

HOTAS

The Fighting Falcon's hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS) system is designed to allow the pilot to manipulate important avionics functions without releasing the hands from the throttle or control stick. This section will provide a summarized description of all HOTAS controls - detailed functionality will be described in other appropriate sections.

Control Stick

The control stick is a side-mounted stick used to manipulate the Flight Control System (FLCS), but also has numerous other HOTAS controls. The stick is mostly stationary and uses pressure sensitivity to be manipulated; it does, however, move a small physical distance.

  • Trim Switch: The Trim Switch commands pitch (up/down) and roll (left/right) trim to the FLCS.
  • Display Management Switch (DMS): The Display Management Switch (DMS) is used for avionics display manipulation and to assign the Sensor of Interest.
    • Forward: Sensor of Interest assigned to HUD/HMCS
    • Aft: Sensor of Interest assigned and cycles between the left and right MFDs
    • Left: Cycles three configured quick access pages on the left MFD from right to left
    • Right: Cycles three configured quick access pages on the right MFD from left to right
  • Target Management Switch (TMS): The Target Management Switch (TMS) manipulates various sensors depending on what is the Sensor of Interest.
    • Forward
      • HUD SOI: When an A/G bomb is selected, designates SPI in DTOS/EO.
      • FCR SOI: Commands Spotlight mode in RWS mode or commands BORE scan in ACM
      • TGP SOI: Commands point track
      • WPN SOI: Commands track
      • HSD SOI: Designate active waypoint
    • Aft
      • HUD/FCR/WPN SOI: Target reject
      • HSD SOI: Drop
    • Left
      • FCR SOI: Expanded data
      • TGP/WPN SOI: Toggles seeker polarity
    • Right
      • FCR SOI: Steps bugged track in TWS or commands HUD scan in ACM
      • TGP SOI: Commands area track
    • Right, Long Press
      • FCR SOI: Toggles TWS and RWS mode

Flight Controls & Landing Gear

The F-16C has multiple flight control surfaces for maneuvering the aircraft. It has a "fly-by-wire" (FBW) system, which, opposed to a traditional mechanical or "direct" control system, the inputs given by the cockpit controls are inputted to a computer which then decides what controls to move in order to accomplish the desired maneuver. This computerized system is called the Flight Control System (FCS). The FCS also moves surfaces as a function of the angle of attack to provide the best control.

The F-16C's primary flight controls are:

  • Stabilators (STAB): Two "stabilators" (stabilizer + elevator) located at the tail move on a single axis independently of one another to control both pitch and roll of the aircraft.
  • Ailerons (AIL): Two normal ailerons located on the outer area of the wings to control roll of the aircraft. They also both droop down to add lift.
  • Rudders (RUD): Two twin, inward-tilted rudders which move on a normal left/right axis to control yaw and are also be pointed inward as a schedule of AOA ("toe-in").
  • Leading Edge Flaps (LEF): Normal slats located on the leading (front) edge of the wings to add lift.
  • Trailing Edge Flaps (LEF): Normal flaps located on the trailing (back) edge of the wings to add lift.


The control stick controls the stabilators, ailerons, and rudder and the rudder pedals control the rudder. The control stick mainly focuses on using force sensing for feedback, not to be confused for force feedback.

Digital Systems Overview

The F-16's avionics are interfaced with via two Multifunction Displays (MFDs), the Integrated Control Panel (ICP), the Data Entry Display (DED), and the head-up display (HUD)/helmet mounted cueing system (HMCS). The hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS) system of the aircraft is also used for manipulating these systems, which is detailed in its own section and the sections relevant to specific HOTAS uses.

Sensor of Interest

In the F-16, either the HUD/HMCS, the left MFD, or the right MFD is the designated Sensor of Interest, or "SOI." The SOI is used to dictate what HOTAS buttons do what function. The SOI is changed via the Display Management Switch (DMS) on the stick - forward will assign SOI to the HUD/HMCS while aft will cycle SOI between the left and right MFDs. If an MFD is SOI, a white border around it is displayed. If the HUD is SOI, an asterisk is put in the upper left corner.

Multifunction Displays

The F-16 has two Multifunction Displays (MFDs) on the left and right sides of the cockpit: each has 5 option select buttons (OSBs) on all four sides. The MFDs can display various software pages to manipulate the aircraft's avionics. Up to three pages per MFD can be selected on either MFD for quick access via pushbutton or HOTAS. These three pages always occupy the bottom center three pushbutton areas. In addition to these, a universal declutter (DCLT) button is provided, which will declutter the symbology depending on the page, and a SWAP button, which simply swaps the two MFD's quick access pages and selected page.

Selecting any of the three pushbuttons once they have already been selected prompts the main page menu. Any page can then be selected and will be filled at that pushbutton. That page can then be selected by either pressing the corresponding pushbutton or using the Display Management Switch (DMS) on the stick, and it will be highlighted. TMS LEFT and RIGHT respectively cycle the three quick access pages on the left/right MFDs in an outward fashion.

Air-to-Air Radar

The F-16C is equipped with the AN/APG-68 pulse Doppler radar. This section will cover its air-to-air (A/A) functionality for surveillance of aircraft and to provide A/A weapon systems guidance in engaging aerial targets. The A/A radar is accessed from the Fire Control Radar (FCR) page.

FCR Page Overview

The Fire Control Radar page is presented in an azimuth over range format with the aircraft at the bottom center of the display. The range axis is displayed in a vertical format, where higher range is higher on the physical MFD screen. Azimuth is horizontal, where something at the center of the display is directly in front of the ownship aircraft, and accordingly left/right of it when left/right of the display center.

  1. Azimuth Caret - This vertical "T" shaped indication indicates the current location of the radar antenna with respect to azimuth (left/right) of the aircraft. The azimuth is usually centered on a bearing relative to the aircraft itself except when in Situational Awareness Mode (SAM) or Single Target Track (STT). The tick marks each indicates 10° azimuth, with the center tick being 0° (60° left/right is the physical maximum).
  2. Elevation Caret - This horizontal "T" shape indicates the current vertical elevation of the radar with respect to the horizon. The radar elevation is always stabilized to the horizon. The elevation is shifted up and down via the Antenna Elevation Knob on the throttle and may also change automatically as a result of the bar setting.. Each blue tick mark indicates 10° above or below the horizon, with the middle tick being the horizon.
  3. Bar Setting - The radar antenna may automatically change position after each azimuth sweep to scan multiple elevations or "bars." The bar number corresponds to the number of different elevations scanned. The first bar is always the manually set elevation with the Antenna Elevation Knob, while the second and fourth bars are automatic and based off the manual setting of the first bar.
  4. Range Scale - The scale of the FCR page may be set with these two arrows. The number represents the maximum range it displays in nautical miles. This setting is only what the page displays; the radar will always scan to the farthest distance possible.
  5. Acquisition Cursor - This is a cursor controlled with the Cursor/Enable Switch on the throttle, used for acquiring tracks and contacts into either Single Target Track or Situational Awareness Mode. Two numbers are displayed to the right indicating the maximum and minimum altitudes in thousands of feet the radar can see at the point the cursor is placed; this naturally changes with the elevation setting.

A/A Radar HUD Indications

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