History of the AFFTC, Vol 1 F-16 Chapter-Pages 385-460

Although the great bulk of full-scale development testing on the F-16 Air Combat Fighter was completed by the end of 1978,flight testing continued at a relatively brisk pace throughout the current reporting period. The aircraft flew approximately 2900 sorties, averaging over 80 flights per month throughout 1979-81. Even before the full-scale development flight test program was officially completed in March of 1979,* the F-16 Combined Test Force was involved in a major and unprecedented multinational evaluation of the F-16 1s performance in a variety of European environments. These tests were to comprise the lightweight fighter's final obstacle before entering service.