HUNTORY OF THE HUNT F-16 IN VENEZUELA

     The F-16A / B Block 15 Fighting Falcon system was once the spearhead of the Venezuelan Air Force FAV. 

     In the year of 1982 the purchase of 24 fighters where 18 were F-16A and six F-16B was concreted, this purchase with the General Dynamics company was made concrete after the American government accepted the sale of said weapon system (that was the first time they agreed to sell state-of-the-art weapons to a Latin American country). Due to the full apogee of the Cold War and after Venezuela exposing good geopolitical reasons, Washington accepted.

     On November 16, 1983 the first six fighters arrived and in 1985 the delivery was finalized. Before the arrival of the F-16 on August 31, 1983, the No. 16 Fighter Air Group was activated to operate with said weapons system. This group is currently operating at El Libertador Air Base Located in Palo Negro, Aragua state.

     The F-16 has undergone a series of improvements and modernizations throughout its operative life, in the 90's it was endowed with a container of designation of targets (presicion guide monitor PGM) Rafael Litenig I and other small improvements and at the end of That decade Samsung improved the Pratt & Whitney F-100-PW-200 turboreactor to the F-100-PW-220.

     Other updates were launched in 2005 in partnership with the Belga Sabca company to strengthen the structures of the F-16s with the Mid Life Update MLU program, Elbis Systems, on the other hand, would be in charge of the complete modernization of the electronic systems and the integration of the Rafael Python IV Air-Air missile system but everything was suspended and the companies were forced to withdraw due to pressure from the United States government, this was due to the little political relationship between former President Hugo Chavez and Geoge Bush. That same year the United States stopped selling Armament and technology to Venezuela.

     Due to the difficult purchase of parts, the FAV decided to buy the Su-30MK2 system from Russia, which we will discuss in another Post. It is worth noting that of the 24 F-16s three were lost in accidents and two were disincorporated and sent to museums (one of they are in the Maracay Aeronautical Museum) being active according to the Nineteen F16 media in the Hunting Air Group No. 16. 

 Credits to its author:

 https://www.facebook.com/erwin.fuguet.gedde

Photograph of Military Aviation (FAV-Club) (Private Facebook Group):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/679443155441599/

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