General Dynamics F-16A of the Royal Air Force.
Registration: J-616 (80-3616).
The F-16 in this picture was built by Fokker at Schiphol Airport as an F-16A Block 15U and entered service with the Royal Air Force in May 1982. Between 2000 and 2002, the aircraft was upgraded to F-16A Block 20 MLU (MLU stands for midlife update).
This aircraft has served with various squadrons of the Air Force over the years including 322, 306, 315, 311, 313, 323 and 312.
In November 2023, the aircraft was decommissioned and it will replace the J-240 which is on a pedestal at Volkel Air Base in the near future.
The aircraft was transported on a flatbed trailer to RAF Fairford in the summer of 2024, where it was given the livery shown in this photo. This livery was specially applied to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the F-16, an anniversary that received much attention at the 2024 Royal International Air Tattoo airshow.
This photo was taken on 24 September 2024 at Volkel Air Base during a special spotter's afternoon organised due to the phasing out of the last F-16's in the Royal Air Force.
I am Jaap van den Berg and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. Since then I travel all over the world to take pictures of military aircrafts. But besides aircraft I also love to photograph other subjects like landscapes, architecture, flowers, animals, .. Read more…