On January 13, 1975, Air Force Secretary John McLucas announced that the YF-16 had been selected as the winner of the ACF contest. The Air Force placed a contract for fifteen FSD (Full-Scale Development) airframes. Both single- and two-seat versions would be built, with the single-seater being designated F-16A and the two-seater F-16B. The reason given by the Secretary for the decision was the lower operating cost, longer range, and better transient maneuverability of the YF-16. Another advantage of the YF-16 over the YF-17 as far as the Air Force was concerned was the fact that the F100 turbofan of the YF-16 was the same powerplant as that of the F-15, and it was felt that buying more of these engines would advance the cause of the fighter that it REALLY wanted, the F-15. Political considerations also played a role, since with the F-111 program coming to an end, General Dynamics of Fort Worth needed the F-16 order to stay in business.
In the meantime, the F-16 still remained one of the contenders for the NACF order. One proposal from General Dynamics was for a single-seat naval fighter based on the two-seat F-16B but with the space ordinarily occupied by the rear seat being used for increased avionics or fuel. On May 2nd, 1975, the Navy announced that they had decided not to buy the navalized F-16, but opted instead for an aircraft developed from the YF-17, which was eventually to emerge as the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.
In February of 1975, the NATO consortium was offered the F-16 at a unit flyaway cost of 5.16 million dollars, based on a total production run of 2,000 planes for the USAF, NATO, and other countries. At the same time, the US government announced that it had cleared F100 engine technology transfer to these countries.
