Final nail for the F35 Turducken?

Posted on September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 by Mike Leave a comment

Who knows, why the hell not. In my estimation, given what I know of the history of such things: it’s more likely than not. The fact that somebody is already talking to the Enemedia about it is a tell.

Lockheed hopes to sell a new F-16 to U.S. Air Force
Lockheed Martin is pitching the U.S. Air Force on a new version of the F-16 fighter, designated the F-16G, as a way to replace aging Fighting Falcons faster than the F-35 production line can keep up.

Multiple people familiar with the aircraft told Aviation Week that the F-16G builds on the current Block 70 F-16, Lockheed’s newest production version, and would add conformal fuel tanks, 600-gallon wing tanks, an infrared search and track pod, a Sniper targeting pod and a drag chute. Those additions would extend the jet’s range and give it added sensor capability compared with earlier F-16 models still flying in Air Force squadrons.

The idea of buying new F-16s to fill out the fighter fleet is not new. Then-Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Will Roper raised the option back in 2021, pointing to the active F-16 production line in Greenville, South Carolina, as a way to add capacity while the F-35 program worked through its own delivery pace. Lockheed builds F-16s and F-35s at separate facilities, but the F-35’s more complex production process has left the Air Force short of new airframes to replace F-16s reaching the end of their service lives.

As I’ve been saying for many years, we shoulda built more of the F22 Raptor rather than shitcanning it prematurely for the Turducken boondoggle. And no, I’m NOT just saying that because a good old blog-bud of mine, the redoubtable Paul a/k/a Capitalist Lion, worked on the F22 project for a good few years.

Also in my estimation, so take that for whatever it may be worth, the ’16 is just about the prettiest friggin jet fighter ever built, by anybody. Certainly, the Fighting Falcon has always been one of the most capable, eminently qualified to hold its head up proudly in the company of such legendary icons of US military aviation as the venerable Grumman Tomcat, the Strike Eagle, and the Super Hornet, really. Here’s a pretty typical pic of one of those beautiful, beautiful Fighting Falcons all dirtied up for landing.

*Le sigh* What an airplane, no? With that big ol’ air scoop under the fuselage and the bubble canopy, I can’t help but be reminded a little bit of my all-time favorite: the likewise gorgeous, likewise eminently capable, likewise lethal P51D Mustang. Hey, don’t hate me ‘cause I’m beautiful, aiight?

(Via Stephen Green)

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