Description

In late 1986, the US Air Force decided to change all the Air National Guard aircraft to ones more dedicated for the Fighter Interception mission. These Air Defense Fighters (or ADFs) had several differences from their Active Duty and Reserve counterparts. Some of these include 4 “bird-slicer” antennas right in front of the cockpit (these are used for the Radar Warning Receiver) and a small spotlight that was fitted on the forward port side of the plane to better identify intercepted aircraft. The planes have been mostly pulled from US service, and are either being mothballed in the AMARG Boneyard or being sold to allied countries as a cheap but pretty advanced alternative.

The Airframe

82-0973 started serving with the US Air Force as an F-16A Block 15 in 1983 at Hill AFB. It was then converted to an F-16A ADF around the late 1980s, and was transferred to Kingsley Field ANGB in 1990. It would later serve for a very short time in the Puerto Rico Air National Guard, being stationed at the Muñiz Air Base right beside Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan starting in 1993. However, the F-16 presence in my island (yes, I am Puerto Rican) was short lived, and in 1994 the plane was sent to the AMARG.

Equipment

• AIM-9 Sidewinder x2
• Drop Tank x2