Why did America build the F-16 when the F-15 Eagle was already there? The F-15 suddenly became the apple of the US Air Force's eye, but there was just 1 problem. The F-15 was a large aircraft, and the air force knew that being large is a disadvantage if you're in the middle of a dogfight. Fighter Mafia led by the Colonel John Boyd was then tasked to build a fighter jet that is half in size, half in cost and is better than any fighter jet out there. In 1972, the US Air Force asked for proposals, and five US aerospace companies submitted their designs, out of which two were selected, the YF-17 by Northrop, and the YF-16 by General Dynamics, and then came the lightweight fighter competition in late 1974. The YF-16 clearly beats the YF-17 with its higher acceleration, greater range and maneuverability, especially at supersonic speeds, also it had the same Pratt & Whitney engine as the F-15 Eagle. On January 13th 1975, the Air Force announced that they would purchase 650 new jets, and thus YF-16 came out of production line as the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
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