F-16C In War Thunder : A Basic Review

Taking a look at the F-16C Block 50 in War Thunder. This version of the F-16 adds multi-role ground attack to the familiar air superiority fighter.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro & History
02:15 Systems & Weapons
04:24 Flight Performance
06:40 Combat Tactics
09:17 Miscellaneous
10:16 Conclusions

[@TimsVariety]

Yes, I know, I have a bad habit of leaving my airbrake open sometimes, and you're only the 255334th person to tell me.

[@LosSantosDowntowncabCo.]

Hey H key for retracting airbrake (jk I love you)

[@andrewmoore7022]

255336th

[@ICECAPPEDSKY]

Honestly the new Betty automated warning system is useful for the air break and missile warnings

[@TimsVariety]

@@ICECAPPEDSKY It is, though I've silenced it when recording footage.

[@reonthornton685]

Console player here. It's worse for me in the F-5E, because I can't see them and because of how my bindings have to be set up, if I press my command to chat in the wrong order, I open the airbrake without realising I've done it.

[@nathanwells4809]

“AIRBRAKE ON” they added this for you Tim

[@tristandaries1129]

6:08 is no one gonna talk about this absolutely amazing turn from the Tomcat?

[@TimsVariety]

When I saw that happen, I knew I'd have to include that clip in the review no matter what. :-)

[@spray916]

The Targeting pod slaving to the helmet is accurate. The radar should also do the same. The current F-16C we have is the Block 50M which is an upgrade package from 2006.

[@TimsVariety]

The radar should, but isn't. I asked the snail for a clarification on intended functionality, if I get a reply I'll update the pinned comment.

[@spray916]

@@TimsVariety Good to know.

[@rickdubbink]

​@@TimsVarietythis is why we love you Tim!

[@piscessoedroen]

2006 upgrade pack? Surprising. Everybody and their mother were enraged that 29smt was a 2005 upgrade pack

[@pxatm]

just to clarify for anyone looking at this now, the radar *does* slave to the HMD, it just doesn't auto lock. You have to press your radar lock bind while looking at a target in the HMD gates. That will turn your radar on and lock the first target it sees in range.

[@jakeogroton]

At 6:10 that f14 almost pulled a crazy maneuver on you if it wasn't for your squadmate

[@TimsVariety]

Yeah, when I saw that crazy nonsense I knew I had to fit that clip into the review. I went back and watched the reply, I couldn't tell if it was intentional or he ran into problems trying to come over the top lol.

[@bluenightfury4365]

Dude was trying to be Maverick

[@camilorodriguez5602]

@@bluenightfury4365 dude thought he was in a su57

[@vincentvoncarnap2473]

he probably could not have pointed his nose due to not having airspeed though

[@MoskusMoskiferus1611]

Ah yes, the Su-14

[@MatchingUser]

That F-14 at 6:09 was insane.

[@balansodumar2619]

He probably watched Top Gun 5 minutes before that

[@randitoable10]

My bro sweating to push all the correct keys at the correct time haha what a beautiful move

[@Kosmo2]

Thanks for all your dedication on these videos Tim, keep up the great work!

[@andrewmoore7022]

6:29 good to know you take your own advice.

[@_ace_defective_]

You do have to be careful with the F-16 speed bleed because if you pull hard at medium to low speeds, you'll dump a lot of energy away. But if you manage your speed carefully, nothing short of an F-16A will have a chance against you. But the F-16 does surprisingly well at scissors too, so dumping speed to pull hard can definitely work well.

[@TimsVariety]

Managing the airspeed really is THE secret to this jet. If you get the airspeed management down to instinct, you're gonna have a good time.....

[@jacobbaumgardner3406]

@@TimsVariety absolutely, I think about 400-430 kts (7040-800 kmh) IAS and you'll beat everything. One thing to note is that it was only Block 50 that was introduced with AMRAAMs in 1991, and all previous blocks were backfitted with the missile.

[@joshsullivan8527]

i grinded it out fast since i had a bunch of the modification RP bonuses saved up on other aircraft. i can say the plane is incredible. i was never too big of a fan of the f16's but this patch they feel much different and i am a big fan of the block 50. the aim-9m and the new g-limiter make this plane feel so nice to fly.

[@zanzao-1ps318]

How does that work? How can you save them for later?

[@joshsullivan8527]

@@zanzao-1ps318 you have to restrain yourself from playing the vehicle but after grinding out all of the upgrades except for one modification per tier (I-IV) I'm usually done with playing with it anyways. But yes you can do that.

[@DieErsteKartoffel]

Saw the community post, glad you were able to get this one out today. Keep up the great videos!

[@zglu4919]

Thanks for the video Tim!

[@skantilles75]

When I seeing this I remember spectrum holobyte's 16 Fighting Falcon game back in the early 90's. That game came with a thick manual. It was an awesome game, playing a F16C block 50 with a lot of missions, different armaments and you had always to look at your fuel. At that time there were a lot of really good jet simulators on the market (F15 Strike Eagle, , Longbow Apache, A10 Tank Killer, F29 Retaliator and so on). Somehow I miss that time. I never got the same feeling back, actually like being on a real mission. :)

[@solvdev]

Babe wake up new Tim video

[@lorenzooo1175]

Great video as allways.. looking forward for the barak 2

[@mastergun57]

Love your vids dude keep it up!

[@sushislav]

Nice video! I’d love to see a review of the new Italian AV-8B+ next!

[@TimsVariety]

It wont be next, but IS on the list.

[@sushislav]

@@TimsVariety 👍

[@DieErsteKartoffel]

I know the U.S. doesn’t “need” it but I’m still confused as to why they couldn’t give it to Italy and the U.S.

[@sushislav]

@@DieErsteKartoffel they probably didn’t want to add two rank viii for USA in one update

[@DieErsteKartoffel]

@@sushislav They did that in Apex predators, they gave the U.S. 2 F-16As

[@jimbobhootenanny4440]

Great video! Keep it up! 👍

[@EATSxBABIES]

Running this thing with just the wingtip 9L/Ms you REALLY notice the extra 20% in that new engine. Its like running an F8E with energy retention of a Mig19. That HMD targeting is such a small bonus that just ties a bow on the gift that this plane is.

[@wapniak666]

do you really? that extra power is offset by much heavier airframe

[@zanaduz2018]

They buffed the F-16 maneuverability as a whole (across all models), so you can pull about 2 more G on average than you could last content patch. This means that the -C has about the same maneuverability as the -As did last patch, but the -As pull even harder.

[@kazline1455]

Hey Tim, i have a suggestion. For aircraft that have MFDs especially now we're getting more modern planes, maybe you could show us all the possible modes on each MFD since sometimes they can switch for example an RWR when thats not in the cockpit anywhere else

[@TheDarklingWolf]

So hyped to unlock this thing, though I got fucked by the A being the main F-16 and the ADF being foldered.

[@TimsVariety]

Yeah, that was .... not the best choice by the snail .....

[@DieErsteKartoffel]

It definitely inconveniences us but on the bright side it’s a good thing for players who haven’t gotten there yet. I can finally tell my friends the grind is less unbearable

[@toast1172]

The A model is better imo, its slightly lighter and not having 7Ms isnt a downside, plus it can bomb a base and a half so thats free points since no one else is bombing at top tier :)

[@srvaughan2502]

Same, was close to done with the ADF now i gotta do 400k to buy it...

[@DieErsteKartoffel]

@@srvaughan2502 Nah, it’s only 200K RP because of the economy changes

[@lolze952608]

So what i noticed while flying this on the dev server the HUD elements change to the targeting system for whichever secondary weapon you have selected which for SIM battles will be extremely useful

[@KaguyasBeat]

Happy Timsday! This was a furiously typed engagement comment. Fingers now on hiatus until next Timsday.

[@M1A2_Abrams_MBT]

I'd like to know how accurately it has been modeled.

[@brianquinlan8891]

Great review Tim thank you! I can’t wait to get this, will probably have it by the weekend depending on college work :) Obama plane next perhaps?? (Barak II lol)

[@TimsVariety]

The Mig-29SMT will be next, but the Barak II is on the list.

[@levd4685]

Daaaaaamn that F-14 really hit you with the « What the fuck was that?! 😨 » at 6:10

[@TimsVariety]

When I saw that happen, I knew I'd have to include that clip in the review no matter what. :-)

[@norliasmith]

Ngl this plane actually looks and sounds good, might have to grind to it then, yet to buy the F-16 A

[@Saimzo9990]

Do i need to finish researching the f16a to get the f16c(i have the adf)

[@jaredmoreno7847]

How do you change the radar to that cone ?

[@dotEXCEI_]

The way the 9M is coded in the game, makes it never see flares. According to the code, the seeker turns of for a sec and the missile continues via intertial guidance. The only way you can dodge the 9M is by flaring and pulling hard out of its FOV while the seeker is off due to its IRCCM code. But good luck with that 😂 To think that there are ppl on the forums crying for 9X and 120's for ''ballance" 😂😂😂

[@pizzaeater7707]

if i were to sum up the f16s (murican f16s) f16a for dogfighting adf for less dogfighting but long range weaponry , f16c well rounded good bombs gets upgraded agm65s gets aim9m and aim7ms, so while the f16a and the adf are good at one or two things the c can do both and has better missles

[@-m4nGo-]

6:06 Couldn't BE more: Rooster: "Holy shit wtf was that??!"

[@camilorodriguez5602]

It occurs to me that the f16 and the f8u fly very similar, in one you need to slow down to get the full turning performance and in the other you need to slow down if you like having wings on your plane, and both of them turn like crazy when you get to their optimum speed bracket for turning

[@zanaduz2018]

All planes do have an optimal cornering speed, it's just more blatantly obvious with those two because it's easy to be overspeeded relative to their corner speed.

[@camilorodriguez5602]

@@zanaduz2018 i guess, but the thing that both have is the amazing turning performance, one can say the same about, say, a bf109 that locks up at high dive speeds, but even at the optimal speed bracket it wont dogfight a zero, or with a spitfire, that it has the optimal speed bracket, but higher speeds make little difference at the turning, same sith the f5c/e that have criminal turning at almost any speed

[@zanaduz2018]

I assume that the MiG-29 SMT is next on the docket (as the other “meta” top-tier jet), but afterward can I request that you review the Mi-8s?

[@TimsVariety]

Yes, and I'll get to the Mi-8s eventually.

[@terrado6746]

If i’m not wrong this version also uses AESA radar, so probably there is not gonna be any more additions for the rest of the year for the USA, just updates… and honestly thats a good thing imo

[@F22Lover]

This version doesn't use AESA, we haven't really even gotten into PESA radars yet in the game. The F-15 will more than likely come to the US in December

[@jaegergames7042]

Random question; Why, whenever I have a clean track on a target, using 7M Sparrows on the 14B and 16ADF- Why sometimes my 7M just detonates about 1km after launch. And it's ALWAYS, around 1km after launch. I try keeping the total launch range around 30km or less, but, this DOESN'T happen when I use Boresight ACM modes.

[@TimsVariety]

TLDR: The spontaneous detonation behavior happens with some missiles when they decide theres no way to hit the target. As to WHY thats happening in SPECIFIC circumstances, thats a little harder to determine sometimes. Could be range, could be lost lock, too much chaff, etc etc etc.

[@jaegergames7042]

@@TimsVariety Love your work man, tysvm for the quick and really great response, xxx. TLDR: Boresight 110% fine. Netting an average of 3.5 kills a game thanks to the ACM. Regular Radar function, not fine. At all. Sorry this is a long one. ADHD is fun. (TWS Pheonixes have no Self Detonate issues. ONLY Reguarly operated 7Ms outside of about 10-12km.) I can confirm I've had 7M Sparrows lose lock and still track, then hit, after I re-aqquired the lock. HOWEVER. This has never been outside 9km. And there's a reason- I stick entirely to the F-14Bs Boresight or ACM, whatever you'd rather call it. Not once have I had a missile spontaneously self checkout, ever. Yet it's probably close to every 2nd or 3rd regular launch (I haven't tried a launch above 40km, at ANY alt or speed.) For reference, It's the only plane top tier I've got a positive K/D Ratio, because the 14Bs 7Ms don't just RANDOMLY DETONATE in ACM/Bsight mode. Maybe it is indeed a Chaff and Range issue? Not sure. I've got a million and 1 replays, but it's all client side footage :( (Edit, I'm not some Noob who doesnt understand Radar, either, for randos reading this. I've put over 2000+ hours into this God damn game. I hate to love it so.)

[@lennart_dro]

New Update info: now is on BR12.7 and now we have a HMD Radar Mode for the Radar Missiles

[@House_of_Schmidt]

16 vs 16 is aweful in ARB. They really need to reduce team size. Better yet, they need to add an Air RB EC mode, but we've been asking for that for years to no avail.

[@TimsVariety]

Yeah, that's ... a whole other topic ... actually planning a rambly-rant vid this weekend to talk about the meta and some new changes/dynamics since the patch.

[@thatcarguydom266]

@@TimsVarietyI haven’t played too much of top tier, but it seems Gaijin made the R-27ET completely overpowered, to the point people think the Python 4 should have made an appearance, I’m interested to hear your thoughts on that

[@TimsVariety]

@@thatcarguydom266I'll be saying more about the 27ET in my review of the Mig-29SMT (next week), but the TLDR - I don't think its as overpowered as some others do.

[@wapniak666]

@@thatcarguydom266>seems Gaijin made the R-27ET completely overpowered Nope, people randomly flare a lot now, a long range IR missile is borderline useless if you can get r73 in the same slot instead (or even better 27ER)

[@alaricpumani5372]

Don't worry we've been asking things for years in Air EC and got nothing so you might wait just couple of weeks for their favorite RB point and click

[@Jman7903]

Ok so I'm confused when anyone says block blank for blank aircraft can someone point me the right direction so I can so reach

[@MageOtter27]

Its like an upgrade number for more modern jets. Like the f16a is block 10 and the newer f16c is block 50

[@RMPBuilds]

Just started war thunder because they added the f 16. I got a long ass way to go until i get to it. And a bunch of rage. Because they keep putting me into lobbies filled with damn day one players

[@devgruCobreti]

Hello, can you tell me what means bvr?

[@TimsVariety]

"Beyond Visual Range" - long distance shots

[@kochegarka_me]

Thank you for review of new F16. Will you make one for russian Mig29 SMT ?

[@TimsVariety]

The SMT is next.

[@UnPokemon]

Hey Tim, I was wondering, when do you think Japan will get the F-2A?

[@TimsVariety]

Hard to say, but knowing the snail it won't be for a while. :-\

[@UnPokemon]

@@TimsVariety Yeah, I'm worried about it too...Just seeing how late France got the Super Etendard, I fear japan will get the F-2 when it'll be somewhat outmatched... Still, thanks for taking the time to answer! :)

[@benkatz5368]

10:03 I play in the cockpit cam with hotas and I see that the radar screen works but mine isn’t, anyone has the same problem? Or knows why?

[@TimsVariety]

There is a keybind to change the MFD function, its off by default, I had to toggle it to get the radar scope.

[@benkatz5368]

@@TimsVariety thank you! Love your content keep it up!

[@texasthib2029]

Why tf did the acm mode go from 19km to 9 the radar can’t lock shit unless it’s in that mode and now you can’t lock anything at all if they’re aware of your existence

[@mushokueien8148]

6:09 Dude thought he is Top Gun 👌😂

[@Anti-Villain-Wolf]

QUESTION: Since the update the AIM7Ms on my F-16A ADF won't lock on until the plane is under 10km, even though the missile prior to the update could lock on at 19km no problem. Anyone else having that problem? I noticed this on assault mode. Great video as always Tim! Keep up the great work!

[@simula152]

ACM...?

[@TimsVariety]

I haven't played the ADF since the update, but I was able to lock&fire the 7M from the 16C out past 20km a few times.

[@Anti-Villain-Wolf]

@@simula152 I tried every radar mode but get the same result

[@Panocek]

@@TimsVariety ADF ACM mode seems to be limited to 9km, despite displaying 19km range. I guess another spaghetti moment on snail end? otherwise narrow scope search works as usual. Same for F16A, but you rarely have need for ACM past 5km anyway.

[@lemangeur2poulet248]

Just don't use ACM past 9km

[@magscorch7706]

So would the F-16C be considered better than the MiG-29SMT?

[@TimsVariety]

"Better" is subjective. Each has an edge in some areas.

[@_ace_defective_]

F-16C destroys the MiG-29SMT in a dogfight, the SMT has... surprisingly pretty mediocre flight performance. It's 1 ton heavier than the 29 9-13 while using the same engines. SMT has better weapons though unsurprisingly.

[@mrgittv]

Should I use radar lock with my aim9s or not? I see you do it, but wasn"'t aware it was necessary. Keep up the good work

[@TimsVariety]

Its not necessary, but you can slave the seeker to the radar lock. If you need more info about that, check out my "complete guide to air to air missiles".

[@lemangeur2poulet248]

Wouldn’t recommend becoz rwr

[@jackswansonstudios4820]

how do u shoot sparows from farther than 9km

[@Panocek]

Normally? Get a lock with other mode than ACM as those get limited to 9km on F-16C and F-14s

[@jackswansonstudios4820]

@@Panocek thank you

[@black_thunder2159]

"its not, just slow down" i hope 90% of F-16 player understand this concept instead of complaining about how "trash" their jet is & how the other tech tree have way better jets.

[@aaronho1914]

I'm here hoping that with the F16C Japan might get its F2A or at least the prototype without aesa radar. Japan makns be suffering 😂

[@m1sz3lpl24]

Something to note: with this patch nerf to MiG-29s F-16s eat it for breakfast. MiGs dump all their speed in turns now and can't rate fight at all anymore for some reason. They are only carried by weapon systems, with F-16s absolutely destroying them in pretty much every aspect in performance. If you can get past headon with F-16, it's all over for MiG

[@davinparker3614]

absolutely love it way better than the smt. i’m really disappointed in the flight performance of the smt.

[@alanamato9382]

now the Barak plis XD

[@legend2460]

Nesher still no ballistic computer, Q-5L still no missiles or countermeasures

[@lemangeur2poulet248]

Because they don’t have irl

[@legend2460]

@@lemangeur2poulet248 yes they do all versions of the Q-5 had a ballistic computer and could carry PL-2, the A and L had ability to carry more advanced missiles, they are also missing bomb options and wing pylons

[@lemangeur2poulet248]

@@legend2460 i was thinking of another plane sorry. Yes you are right. But its gaijin what do you think :/

[@billymayshere6128]

Bulldogs! 07

[@jacobalexander4961]

No Starfield videos today Tim?

[@TimsVariety]

My variety channel will be getting some starfield content soon, actually. The new WT stuff has priority for this week though.

[@SpaceNavy90]

One thing to note about this plane is as of 9/20/2023 when this video was released, F-16C only has AIM-7M Sparrow missiles for BVR. It is very likely that it and other planes will be recieving Fox 3 active radar missiles soon, in this case the AIM-120 AMRAAM which will make this plane even better. Will the MiG-29SMT get R-77? Probably, who knows.

[@ilejovcevski79]

Do i smell AMRAAMs? Or are they gonna wait for the F-15's for that? Oh, and is gonna AIM-7M migrate to Tomcats as well?

[@thatoneguy1741]

Everybody’s getting fox 3s at the same time not just the US

[@ilejovcevski79]

@@thatoneguy1741 aren't 54's Fox-3s already?

[@sch1ck]

@@ilejovcevski79 everyone will get good fox 3 missile at the same time

[@jovanni_orb5116]

Hi

[@ilovewindturbines]

WAR THUNDER WEDNESDAY

[@DieErsteKartoffel]

All my homies love War Thunder Wednesday

[@emmata98]

7:48 I mean you still get the unrealistic icon on the missile, witch makes the smokeless motor worse

[@thunderwithchrissy]

6:09 bro really thought he was the top gun.

[@jedinight235]

6:10 fuckin Maverick over here would have got you if he didnt get shit on by your teammate lmao.

[@Omniscient_01]

Wish more folk would hop on war thunder sim 😪

[@Omniscient_01]

Thats where youll see the true strengths of all these aircrafts and their new technologies.

[@neoxima706]

I don’t even own the F-16C, neither am I close. I think I’m rank VI in America…

[@187HeroMrSlick]

Sadly by the time I get this plane at my skill level it will be 2 years from now...

[@DieErsteKartoffel]

Hey, with the new economy changes maybe only 1.5 years

[@tristandaries1129]

Can we get a video on all the new RWR things? Super confused

[@TimsVariety]

Its coming within the next couple of weeks. Lots to do after this update.

[@askamikaze3936]

Welcome to f 16 meta era, see you in a while when a minor nation gets better fighter

[@emadyanni8360]

I HATE f-16 DIISLIKE IT AT ANY VERSION I NEED F-15 with Aim-9m and Aim-ram 120

[@michaelsanders6920]

First AAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

[@TimsVariety]

AAAAHHHHH!!!one!!!11!one! :-)

[@georgedonald2745]

I ducking hate my main being uk

[@TimsVariety]

We'll get you that Eurofighter eventually. In like ... 2027 ... :-\

[@DieErsteKartoffel]

They did say they plan to add a competitive top tier jet for UK this year, what will that be? No clue, maybe experimental or nerfed Typhoon

[@newsflashasshole7205]

​@@DieErsteKartoffelexperimental harrier

[@areyou0k98]

​@@DieErsteKartoffelmore than likely f-18

[@2shae475]

It doesn't get combat flaps because they are automatic.

[@everythingman987]

US Block 50’s have never used the Sparrow lol

[@TimsVariety]

When this jet was first added, the AIM-120 hadn't been added to the game yet, and my guess is that they just wanted to give it a radar missile of some kind.