Peace Atlantis III and the ADCUP program - PoAF's F-16C/D(V) Block70

[DogfighterZen]

"In 2011, the gradual increase of Russian aircraft detected over the Atlantic ocean, led the US to present a proposal to the Portuguese government to extend their presence at the Lajes air base located in the Azores islands.
This program offered the Portuguese government a payment for use of the base, payment which would come in form of military equipment for the PoAF.
The proposal granted a total of 48 F-16 fighters of the latest V configuration that were to be some of the most advanced Vipers to date. This agreement would allow the Americans to maintain their presence and surveillance of any military movements happening in the Atlantic, while at the same time, they would be reinforcing one of their allied air forces with more modern equipment for a better response and assistance of US forces in any possible scenario.
The Portuguese government would almost immediately accept what would be called the Peace Atlantis III program.
Like  the PoAF had already been operating the F-16 for a long time, the US government, together with Lockheed Martin, chose an option that would be cheaper, easier to put into production and for Portuguese pilots to make the transition.
This program consisted of the further development and integration of new aerial combat technologies for fighters of previous generations, and in this case, would be composed by several improvements for the iconic Viper.
Starting with the advanced SABR APG-83 radar, IRST sensor and new displays and mission computer in the cockpit, this suite of systems would give the old Viper new capabilities and better chances against possible enemy fighters. This variant would also have the option of using CFTs or external fuel tanks conforming to the fuselage to increase its range of action.
But the one of the most unexpected upgrades was the new Skorpion exhaust nozzle from General Electrics, which, although identical on the outside  compared to a normal one, this nozzle is a derivative of the nozzle used on the F-16VISTA, governed by a 3D propulsion vector control system.
To complete the propulsion section, for the first time , the powerplant would be a combination of rival company's products.
The US government decided that the workshare should be divided so, Pratt&Whitney was forced to work with General Electrics as a team on this project
The Pratt & Whitney F135 ADVENT, which, by having almost the same exact dimensions of the P&W engines used on the Viper, was easy to adapt to any existing airframe with a few minor adjustments and connection parts.
These fighters would in fact, be even more lethal and survivable than the F-16E/F Block60, with only a few differences of hardware and software.
The first 3 single seat and 3 twin seat F-16C/DV Block70, were delivered in March of 2015. They were flown all the way to Portugal by PoAF pilots, who traveled from the American base in Tucson, Arizona, where they went through transition training, back to Monte Real's BA5, where they were received by the remaining "Falcons" of the 201st fighter squadron and senior representatives of the Portuguese and American government, PoAF and USAF, as well as a representative of Lockheed and the OGMA/Embraer.
The last 12 of the 48 were delivered in 2016, already with the new stealthier paint, the "Have glass V", with a different overall tone, adapted to our mixed territory. 6 of each of version would also be delivered to the "Jaguars" of Squadron 301, just a few months after the first arrived."

[DogfighterZen]

Now the single seat beast... 



















Well, i think that's enough for now, maybe a family outdoor pic tomorrow...
Hope you guys like them!

[TheChronicOne]

I'm blown away!!! That paint.. that finish.. that... them decals n stuff!!     

Nice write up.. I dig the modded stealthier paint and the color scheme. Just beautiful!  I dig the Jag-stripes on the fin of the 301 bird.

These are some the best F 16 I even seen.   

[DogfighterZen]

I'm blown away!!! That paint.. that finish.. that... them decals n stuff!!     

Nice write up.. I dig the modded stealthier paint and the color scheme. Just beautiful!  I dig the Jag-stripes on the fin of the 301 bird.

These are some the best F 16 I even seen.   

Thank you for your generous words, my friend! Glad you like them!
The paint tone came out very close to the finish i got on my F-16W, although it was a completely different mix... Still, i'm very happy with how both came out, maybe in the sunlight the slight metallic sheen will show in the pics.
The tail and cft art, as well as the belly fin decoration are from the Model Maker Decal sheet of the real world PoAF F-16AM Tigermeet of 2011 in Cambrai, France. I bought a few for this purpose.
And i do feel as if they're up to par with what i consider my best work so far, again, the F-16W. BTW, now that i've got six of them DSI intakes, a new F-16 variant is going to be built...

[TheChronicOne]

I'll have to have a look at that W.

And yes, outside pics are better than inside pics as far as I can tell..I'm sure with certain camera set ups and lighting some of that could be alleviated... but nothing like being outside. Especially during "golden hour."   In fact, I was supposed to do the same today with my new Vulture thing but I just had far too much real world stuff to take care of before "play time." Not like there isn't plenty of time left in the build anyway so no worries...   

I have some f-16 projects in the works myself. I want to build these OOB:






Then.... You know the movie Iron Eagle?  Yeah...I want to try to replicate one of those F-16B's.   

I shall eagerly be waiting for the next round of F-16 variant(s)...

[DogfighterZen]

Good choices for real world models, plenty of colors look good on the Viper! I've got a few i'd like to build myself, the Revell boxes of the Belgian and Polish F-16MLU and the Solo Turk C, and maybe also throw in the F-86 Sabre of the commemorative scheme for PoAF's BA5, Monte Real.
I've seen that movie just a few weeks ago to refresh my memory, hadn't seen it for 20 some years. That will be a nice one for sure, get it going!:thumbsup:

[comrade harps]

2 beautiful Vipers 

[DogfighterZen]

2 beautiful Vipers 

Glad you like'em, Comrade!

[zenrat]

Good work DFZ.

[DogfighterZen]

Good work DFZ.

Thank you very much, my friend!

[Captain Canada]

Gorgeous. Those look so right, and I love a model all loaded like those two. It's amazing what the F-16 has become. We need a pic of them together tho 

[DogfighterZen]

Glad you like them, Captain! But my pics suck... i'm getting a real photo camera very soon, i'm tired of having such a hard time getting anything focused for a decent pic. I also have to think about a better lighting setup for my bench, not only for pics but mainly because i don't have any light directly above the bench, it's behind me in the ceiling and i haven't been very comfortable while building because i cover the light unless i'm sitting sideways.
I took more pics a few days ago but i can't seem to upload on Photobucket, after i'm already logged in, it asks me to log in again but that window never works... It looks like i'll have to open a new account there or on some other site...