There’s a market for people interested in purchasing and flying military planes. The aircraft are called Warbirds, and if you have the funds, you can purchase one.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is one of the U.S. military’s most famous aircraft, and it has a storied history. The F-16 first entered the inventory in 1979, so it’s been around for 45 years. That makes the F-16 a prime target for anyone looking to purchase one, and there’s quite a market for older versions. The F-16 is sold to other nations, and they operate around the world, so it’s not just people in the United States interested in procuring one.
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Still, buying one is not like going to a military surplus store and picking one up. Because they’re built for the purpose of fighting wars, jets like the F-16 are a controlled, regulated item. They do hit the market from time to time, and as you’ve probably guessed, they’re not cheap. One came up for sale in Florida in 2019, and the asking price was $8.5 million, but that’s just to get the title — actually maintaining and operating an F-16 is incredibly expensive, so the overall costs should be factored in before you pull out your checkbook.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon
The F-16 Fighting Falcon was a single-seat fighter developed by General Dynamics, though modern F-16s are currently produced by Lockheed Martin. While the fighter is designated the “Fighting Falcon,” those who fly it call it the F-16 “Viper.” Since its introduction, the F-16 has undergone updates and modernizations, and there are multiple variants.
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This works in the favor of Warbird collectors. While new F-16s aren’t going to pop up for sale, older aircraft that weren’t updated are what you can expect to see for sale. The most recent version of the aircraft is designated F-16V, and it’s a beast. The upgrades bring a legacy 20th-century fourth-generation fighter into the 21st century by making it capable of keeping up with fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
The F-16 is a highly capable and advanced fighter that’s capable of reaching Mach 2 (1,500 mph). Its range is 2,002 miles, but it can also be refueled in the air, effectively extending the range to whatever the pilot can tolerate. Some variants have two seats, while most retain the original single-seat configuration. The F-16 can hold 7,000 pounds of fuel in its internal tanks, which kicks up the operating cost significantly. As of 2018, 4,604 F-16s had been produced, 3,000 of which remained in operation with the U.S. Air Force and 28 other nations around the world.
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Buying an F-16 Fighting Falcon
Once you’ve saved your pennies and are ready to purchase your very own F-16, you’ll need to find one. F-16s are highly sought after by collectors, so they don’t come up for sale often. When one does, it tends to make headlines, which is what happened in 2019 when an F-16 hit the market in Palm Beach, Florida. Jet Lease put the aircraft up for sale on its website, listing it for $8.5 million.
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The jet was a 1980 F-16A/B Block 15 Mid-Life Update (MLU). To be clear, this was an old model that wouldn’t be deployed by a military. To a collector — that’s a different story. The Block 15 MLU brought the older aircraft up to the standards of the F-16C/D. Some of the updates included a couple of hardpoints, reinforcing the aircraft’s structural integrity, a larger tail, improved radar system, and other tweaks.
None of these updates would necessarily impact a civilian purchase, as all weapons systems or classified sensors are removed for sale to civilians. While you can’t purchase one and fly it into combat, Warbirds are airworthy, so any F-16 you purchase should be able to fly. After shelling out $8.5 million for the aircraft, you can expect to spend a ton just operating it. An F-16 costs about $27,000 to fly for one hour, but that’s not all. Maintaining one is complex, and for every hour an F-16 flies, it requires 16 hours of maintenance.
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