Venezuela has returned an F-16 fighter jet to service after nearly 16 years of inactivity
The Venezuelan Air Force has restored and returned to service an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet that had not flown for over 15 years. The aircraft in question is a two-seat F-16B Block 15 with tail number 9583, which has undergone a full cycle of repairs and testing.
This was reported by Infodefensa.
According to reports, the ceremony marking the aircraft’s return took place at the Libertador Air Base with the participation of the military aviation command. Military representatives called the restoration of the aircraft an important step toward strengthening the country’s combat capability.
According to the military, the aircraft had been out of service for 15 years and 10 months. Its restoration was carried out by specialists from the aerospace division of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, despite ongoing difficulties with aircraft fleet maintenance due to international restrictions.
It is known that Venezuela received 24 F-16 fighter jets from the United States back in 1981. In the 2000s, plans were made to modernize them, but the program was derailed after restrictions were placed on the supply of defense technologies.
In the years that followed, the country faced significant challenges in maintaining its F-16 fleet in a combat-ready state. According to experts, by the end of the 2010s, only a few aircraft were potentially capable of being deployed on combat missions.
The exact duration of the restoration of this specific aircraft has not been specified. Nor has U.S. involvement in the repair work been confirmed, which analysts consider unlikely.
Previously, the U.S. Air Force successfully demonstrated the process of rapid weapons integration by mounting a U.S. Navy Harpoon missile on an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The test demonstrates the effectiveness of the new method for rapidly adapting aircraft to modern threats.
