The Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program was a United States Air Force technology evaluation program initiated in the late 1960s by a group of officers and defense analysts known as the "Fighter Mafia".

The F-16 Air Defense Fighter (ADF) was a special variant of the Block 15 optimized for the United States Air National Guard's fighter interception mission. Begun in 1989, 270 airframes were modified.

A Light Weight Fighter (LWF) program came into being under Packard's watch. A Request For Proposals (RfP) was issued to the industry on January 16, 1971. The RFP called for a high thrust-to-weight ratio, a gross weight of less than 20,000 pounds, and high maneuverability.

2007年1月13日 · On the LWF, sometimes the configurations are referred to as "AVFFX 401B" "ADF 780", "LWF 401F-16" etc, but more often just as "Configuration 786". MacDonnell uses a similar system for the suffixes appended to their Model number.

2016年12月21日 · The Air Force’s Prototype Program Office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, launched the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program in January 1972. The request for proposals specified a highly maneuverable fighter, with emphasis on reduced weight and cost.

The purpose of the LWF was to complement the air-superiority mission of the F-15 with a smaller and less high-tech air defense fighter. The Light Weight Fighter Request for Proposal (RFP) emphasized high thrust-to-weight ratio, low weight, and low cost.

2014年2月4日 · The US Air Force attempted to counter these trends with a program called the Advanced Day Fighter, or ADF, which had the goal of developing a 25,000-pound fighter with a thrust-to-weight ratio and wing loading sufficiently high enough to maintain a twenty-five percent superiority over the MiG-21.

2024年6月21日 · The US Air Force attempted to counter these trends with a program called the Advanced Day Fighter, or ADF, which had the goal of developing a 25,000-pound fighter with a thrust-to-weight ratio and wing loading sufficiently high enough to maintain a twenty-five percent superiority over the MiG-21.

2007年1月13日 · "Alternate ADF study" makes me think this was a deliberate evaluation of the Convair-200-style canard delta layout to make sure it wasn't better than the tailed layout.

2011年4月6日 · The F-16 was originally created under the Light Weight Fighter (LWF) program of the early 1970s that sought a cheaper counterpart to the F-15 optimized for maneuverability and tactical attack missions.