The General Dynamics A-16, a modified F-16 fighter jet with strengthened wings and new avionics, meant to be the direct replacement of the A-10, the main modification for this end being the replacement of its 20mm internal gun for a 30mm Avenger gun.
The program was cancelled after the two prototype aircraft that received the new gun were found to suffer from overheating when firing it.
It didn’t end there though, a few years later a squadron of 24 F-16 Block 10 jets were equipped with the GPU-5/A Pave Claw 30mm gun pod, using the same gun originally proposed for the earlier program, earning the new designation of F/A-16, receiving its baptism of fire during Desert Storm, where the gun was found to be extremely inaccurate, becoming more useful as an area denial weapon akin to a cluster bomb, rather than a true projectile weapon, ending the idea for good.














