Lightweight Fighter program

<p>The Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program was a <a href="/facts/United_States_Air_Force/7MxWBYlc">United States Air Force</a> technology evaluation program initiated in the late 1960s by a group of officers and defense analysts known as the "<a href="/facts/Fighter_Mafia/RCE3WgXp">Fighter Mafia</a>". It was spurred by then-Major <a href="/facts/John_Boyd_(military_strategist)/lBhen1zj">John Boyd</a>'s <a href="/facts/Energy%25E2%2580%2593maneuverability_theory/GklUho2L">'energy-maneuverability' (E-M) theory</a>, which indicated that excessive weight would have severely debilitating consequences on the maneuverability of an aircraft. Boyd's design called for a light-weight fighter with a high <a href="/facts/Thrust-to-weight_ratio/lgAXJLRJ">thrust-to-weight ratio</a>, high maneuverability, and a gross weight of less than 20,000 lb (9,100 kg), half that of its counterpart, the <a href="/facts/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle/8ublq0RC">McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle</a>. It resulted in the development of the <a href="/facts/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon/0KRD0Gqy">General Dynamics YF-16</a> and <a href="/facts/Northrop_YF-17/xVhYcxsE">Northrop YF-17</a>. Late in the program, in 1974, with the promise of European sales, the Air Force changed the program name to Air Combat Fighter (ACF), and committed to purchasing 650 models of the YF-16, adopted as the <a href="/facts/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon/0KRD0Gqy">F-16 Fighting Falcon</a>. The <a href="/facts/U.S._Navy/xYK0fUou">U.S. Navy</a> adopted a modified version of the YF-17 as the <a href="/facts/McDonnell_Douglas_F%2fA-18_Hornet/hsKrCHym">McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet</a>.
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Lightweight Fighter program open-in-new

Lightweight Fighter program