When They Built a Strange Super Wide F-16

From the sleek lineage of the F-16 Fighting Falcon came a visionary leap in aerospace design: the F-16XL.

Conceived in the late 1970s by the same General Dynamics team, this prototype featured a striking, massive cranked-arrow delta wing that delivered unparalleled agility and performance. The wing's innovative design provided a 25% higher lift-to-drag ratio in supersonic flight and a whopping 120% larger surface area compared to the standard Fighting Falcon.

Constructed with cutting-edge carbon composite materials, it saved 600 pounds of weight while boosting structural strength and aerodynamic efficiency.

The F-16XL could even carry twice the payload and travel 44% farther without external fuel tanks. But despite being arguably one of America's greatest fighters ever developed, in the world of aircraft design and production, better doesn't always mean more convenient.