Only 2 F-16XLs Were Ever Built — One Flew Alongside an SR-71 Blackbird to Help NASA Measure Sonic Booms

Only 2 F-16XLs Were Ever Built — One Flew Alongside an SR-71 Blackbird to Help NASA Measure Sonic Booms

General Dynamics stretched the F-16's fuselage about 56 inches, removed its ventral fins, and swapped its wing for a cranked-arrow delta with no horizontal tail, putting pitch and roll control on the wing's trailing edge. Internal fuel rose sharply, extra hardpoints doubled the ordnance load, and composites helped offset the added weight. In the Enhanced Tactical Fighter competition to replace the F-111, it may have been the more efficient desig…