Aviation enthusiasts tend to recognize the F-16 Fighting Falcon on sight. The jet cuts a distinctive figure with compact proportions, a bubble-canopy, and one engine—with the air intake located dead center and horizontal stabilizers forming a symmetrical angle. The airframe’s ubiquity helps, too, with over 4,600 F-16s produced since the 1970s and over 2,600 still in service today (by comparison only 187 F-22 Raptors were produced).

But there was one F-16 variant, a little-known experiment, that few would recognize: the F-16XL.

Only two F-16XLs were ever made. In 1981, the fighter entered the Air Force’s Enhanced Tactical Fighter (ETF) competition to select a replacement for the F-111 Aardvark. The F-16XL lost the bid, which is why you’ve probably never heard of the thing (the F-15 Eagle, which you probably have heard of, ultimately won the ETF competition, joined the U.S. Air Force,........

© The National Interest