F-35 Lightning II progressively replaces F-16 Fighting Falcon in US and allied forces
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The F-35 Lightning II is being introduced to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon progressively in the United States Air Force and allied air forces, and the Joint Strike Fighter program was started to field a single family of aircraft that could replace both the F-16 and the A‑10 Warthog.
The F-35 is offered in three variants – the land‑based F‑35A, the short‑takeoff/vertical‑landing F‑35B and the carrier‑ready F‑35C – and its Pratt & Whitney F135‑PW‑100 engine produces almost 150% of the thrust of a late‑model F‑16; it can travel more than 1,350 miles on internal fuel, has unlimited range with aerial refueling, and reaches a top speed of Mach 1.6. The F‑16 airframe has exceeded upgrade capacity limits for radar size, armament volume, fuel capacity and stealth enhancements, and more than 4,700 F‑16s have been built.