Simulating a Bombing Raid in an F-16

The historic 1981 Israeli operation took out Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor.

Patrick Chovanec

Friday, January 05, 2024 at 08:31 PM ET

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The F-16 is known as a fighter pilot's fighter. [Courtesy: Patrick Chovanec]

Key Takeaways:

The F-16 was developed in the 1970s as a lightweight, agile, and cost-effective multi-role fighter, incorporating innovative features like fly-by-wire technology and pilot-centric design inspired by the "Fighter Mafia."
It gained significant combat recognition through the 1981 Israeli raid on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, a daring, long-range, low-altitude mission that highlighted its operational capabilities.
The F-16 has become one of the world's most successful fighter aircraft, widely adopted by the U.S. and over two dozen other nations for diverse roles including air superiority, ground attack, and aggressor training, often playing a key role in international geopolitics and regional conflicts.

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Today in Microsoft Flight Simulator, I’ll be checking out the F-16. And to get things rolling, I’ll be flying one of its most historic missions: the 1981 Israeli bombing raid to take out Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor.

Originally produced by General Dynamics, which has since sold its aircraft business to Lockheed Martin, the F-16 came about in the early 1970s in response to the shortcomings of the F-4 Phantom, which saw murderous attrition rates in the skies over Vietnam, and the introduction of new, more advanced Soviet fighters such as the MiG-25.