Aviation Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for aircraft pilots, mechanics, and enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
In the above picture, we see that Chinese J-10 jets incorporated DSI inlets into their "B" and "C" versions.
(2) is the purported digital image of an Indonesian F-16 block 70/72.
However, F-16s retained MSI/MCID imtakes.
Why don't newer versions of F-16s use DSI inlets but newer Chinese jets prefer DSI?
J-10 has an adjustable intake which is essential for reaching its designed goal for speed. But it's heavy, complex, hence controversial from the early days (is the weight actually worth it?). Later when DSI is better studied and understood, it shows potential to be (almost) equally effective but a much lighter structure.
F-16 wasn't expected to be the best air superiority fighter to begin with, hence speed was neither a big requirement, nor a big problem (it has an excellent engine), so it chose a non-adjustable intake that is already very weight-efficient. DSI could potentially make it fly faster but that doesn't seem to have attracted a lot of interest (and investment).
