Picture A US Air Force F-16 Fighter ‘On Steroids’ And You Get The F-16XL Heavy Fighter-Bomber

Picture A US Air Force F-16 Fighter ‘On Steroids’ And You Get The F-16XL Heavy Fighter-Bomber

General Dynamics stretched an F-16 by 56 inches, replaced its wing and tail with a cranked-arrow delta of graphite composites 600 pounds lighter, and got an airplane with 27 hardpoints, twice the Fighting Falcon’s bombload, far less drag, and a sustained Mach 1.2 without afterburner.