As for the F-16, I remember all the positive hype about that aircraft, I remember buying a white plastic, red white and blue model of the F-16 when I was a little kid with my lawn-mowing money back in the mid 70s, and I believe that was back before the plane was even operational. I also remember many US allies being very eager to buy that plane and it doing well in many engagements in foreign service, most notably by the Israelis but in other places too. I met a Greek F-16 pilot later in life who had nothing but praise for that aircraft.
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And maybe it had cost overruns, but the F-16 was relatively low cost when it came out, I think it was one of the few that lived up to the promise of being a (comparatively) low cost fighter and even today with the Block 70 it's considerably less expensive than an F-35 or even an F-15. Less capable in many respects as well of course.