Due to delays and cost overruns in the F-35 stealth fighter program, the U.S. Air Force intends to continue flying its 1,200 F-16s well into the 2040s by extending the airframe’s service life from eight to twelve thousand hours. The Fighting Falcon has proven to be a fine and versatile combat jet—and furthermore, by one count it costs $22,000 per flight hour to operate, compared to $42,000 for a twin-engine F-15.

If the agile little fighter has any shortcomings, it’s that the American F-16’s radar has fallen out of date, and that the type was never designed to carry a great deal of fuel, limiting its combat radius to just 340 miles on internal stores. The Pentagon should eventually consider reasonable measures to keep that fleet up to date, notably the incorporation of APG-83 AESA radars and the adoption of conformal fuel tanks. These issues aside, the F-16 has more than earned its current popular nickname among pilot as “the Viper,” and will continue to occupy a prominent role in military aviation across the globe for decades to come.

Sébastien Roblin holds a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.

This first appeared in Sept. 2016.