One of the key factors in a modern combat aircraft is versatility. A plane able to serve in a variety of roles can reduce the overall cost of operations by limiting the number of components needed for maintenance. If one type plane can serve effectively in fighter, bomber or reconnaissance roles, that is one thing, but if it only requires the mounting of detachable pods or racks without changing the machine itself, you have a virtual one-plane air force. The nimble General Dynamics F-16 fighting Falcon is just that machine. Winner of a light-weight fighter competition in 1975, the F-16 has become one of the most successful combat plane in history. It can carry more than thirty different types of offensive or defensive weapons and electronics pods in combinations weighting up to ten tons. It is permanently armed with a 20mm M61A rotary cannon located in the fuselage and usually carries a pair of AIM-9 sidewinder air to air missiles attached to it's wingtips. The F-16 is one of the few post-Vietnam fighters to have engaged in combat, and it has destroying the operation before it could become a force of destruction.