PHOTOS: Air Force Football Unveils New F-16 Alternate Uniform

The Air Force Academy’s football Falcons will celebrate the F-16 Fighting Falcon with a new airpower uniform unveiled Aug. 13. The new special edition uniforms are the latest in what has become an annual special outfit for rivalry games, dubbed the “Air Power Legacy Series.”

The light gray uniforms feature white lettering and numbers, and abound with special details honoring the Viper’s unique history.

Courtesy of Air Force Athletics

The words “FIGHTING FALCON” run down one pant leg, while “VIPER” goes down the other. (Fighting Falcon is the official name for the F-16, but Viper has become its unofficial nickname.

Patches and tail flashes from four F-16 units adorn the chest, sleeve, and back of the jerseys:

120th Fighter Squadron and 140th Wing from the Colorado Air National Guard

555th Fighter Squadron from Aviano Air Base, Italy

20th Fighter Wing from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.

Gloves that go with the uniforms show an F-16 when held together.

The accompanying helmet is made up to resemble a pilot’s helmet, complete with visor cover. The F-16’s official patch, featuring a Falcon, is on one side the painted visor cover, while the word “PSYCHO” is on the other.

PSYCHO refers to F-16 pilot Col. William Andrews, who was shot down over Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and, while hanging from his parachute straps, suffering a broken leg and under fire from advancing Iraqi ground troops, continued communicating on his handheld radio, warning two other aircraft to break away and launch flares in response to missiles he saw being fired in their direction. Andrews was captured, beaten, and held prisoner for eight days. Over the course of his decorated career, he was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses with “V” for valor, the POW Medal, and the Legion of Merit.

The team unveiled the uniforms with a splashy video and photoshoot from Buckley Space Force Base, Colo., where the 140th Wing is based, as players posed with F-16s.

Courtesy of Air Force Athletics

The football team will wear the F-16 jerseys on Oct. 4 when the Falcons take on Navy at noon Eastern time. The game will be broadcast on CBS.

The F-16 jerseys aren’t the only special uniforms Air Force football will sport this year—earlier this summer, the academy announced that several of its athletic teams would sport Space Force uniforms this year. The football team’s Space colors are black and feature “Space Force” on the front in the service’s distinctive font, along with its “Semper Supra” motto lettered on the back, in place of players’ names. The helmet is blue, featuring “USSF” on one side and an “AF” academy logo, modified with the addition of an orbit and Polaris star, on the other.