F-16 fighter jet afterburner takeoff is a display of power like nothing you’ve ever seen
- The afterburner takeoff of the F-16 fighter jet is awesome
- The power required to take off at this speed is simply breathtaking
- And it’s also carrying live weapons
Published on Mar 08, 2024 at 8:01 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Mar 08, 2024 at 8:01 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
If you’ve seen an F-16 fighter jet in flight, you’ve seen nothing yet – this afterburner takeoff is so powerful it’s like nothing you’ve seen before.
These aircraft are on a practice air defense scramble mission at March Air Reserve Base in California, US.
And, yes, it’s carrying live weapons.

READ MORE! Inside China’s new plane set to compete with Airbus and Boeing for global dominance
It was designed as a low-cost, lightweight fighter that could outmaneuver its rivals.
What eventually became known as the F-16 took its first flight 50 years ago in January 1974.

Despite its age, the F-16 remains relevant with its good looks as well as modernized radar, electronic warfare upgrades, and cockpit displays.
And the video above, posted to YouTube by Skyes9, taken back in 2017, shows what it can really do.
The air defense scramble mission might just be a practice, but the speed and heat coming out of the back during the afterburner takeoff is very real.

According to its creator, Lockheed Martin, the craft is: “Ready then, ready now, ahead of ready for what’s to come”.
The latest iteration, Block 70/72 was introduced in 2017.
Its 5th Generation advanced fighter radar capabilities deliver “greater situational awareness, flexibility and quicker all-weather targeting” per Lockheed Martin.
That “provides pilots with unprecedented target area detail and digital map displays that can be tailored with slew and zoom features”.
It boasts a new, high resolution Center Pedestal Display (CPD), providing critical tactical imagery to pilots and allowing them to take full advantage of an active electronically scanned array (AESA) and targeting pod data.

Want more? Check out this speed demon as the new F-15 Eagle soars near Mach 3.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg as the US Air Force is now testing AI in its fighter jets.
Back to the F-16 and Lockheed Martin’s Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS), introduced in 2014, was purpose-built to prevent deadly crashes and has already saved the lives of multiple pilots.



The F-16 fighter jet is one of the most versatile multirole fighters ever, with more than 3,300 carriage and release configurations certified for greater than 180 weapon and store types.
It has a structural life to 12,000 hours, 50 percent greater than the previous F-16 aircraft.
Per Lockheed Martin, they are confident that the “F-16 fleet can operate to 2060 and beyond”.
On the subject of the future of military aircraft, China claim to have developed wild new plasma tech that can make aircraft invisible.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”