G cf vu @ ri 7 i= 5 8 wc Top: A Belgian Air Force F-16A is getting prepared for a next Red Flag mission at the Nellis USAF base. Right: The pitot in front of the radome is heated during flight, to avoid that ice would block the entrance of the pitot tube. Several variations of burned-metal colours are possible on this part. The lines you see on the radome are static electricity conductors. They prevent the radar from being struck by lightning when flying in nasty weather. The colour of the F-16 Radome can vary from medium grey to dark grey; the rubber material, with which the radome is coated, is highly influenced by air pollution ‘and absorbs dirty air particles very easily. A brand new radome starts its life as medium grey, but will become darker and darker even over the following months.Below right: the antennas underneath the nose; TACAN lower antenna, Radar Altimeter antenna and Marker Beacon antenna.