Test and Evaluation of a Modified F-16 Analog Flight Control Computer

In a time of ever decreasing defense budgets, the modification of legacy systems is becoming increasingly important to the war fighter. When modifications include components of a legacy flight control system, conducting the safety of flight validation and verification testing can make the program cost prohibitive. This paper will present an example of an effort that affordably integrated a modified F-16 analog flight control computer into a modern F-16 flight control test environment to efficiently conduct safety of flight testing. The paper will highlight how safety of flight testing was identified as a primary technical risk at program inception and how the incorporation of safety of flight testing requirements into the initial modification design concept resulted in an executable program concept.