The following is addressed to those who think there are secret OFF codes to U.S. weapons... I've seen this conspiracy hundreds of tmes in various defense forums. And the F-16 is particularly prone to this ridiculous notion.
Given that American defense contractors are greedy - I've also heard this 1,000 times - and want to sell weapons,
What will happen to the U.S. Defense export market the first time a secret OFF code is actually used?
It would (of course) totally collapse. No one would ever again buy anything more complicated than a rifle from the USA. Therefore, what are the chances that such a system or device actually exists?
Further, if it DID exist, it would be known by a number of engineers and workers. How much would such knowledge be worth? If I, a Lockheed Martin worker, KNEW that there were OFF codes in an F-16, I could approach China, Egypt, Pakistan, and become an instant multi-millionaire by selling this secret, especially if I knew what the codes were. Imagine being able to negate an entire air fleet with a code!
This hasn't happened yet, for obvious reasons. There are no OFF codes in U.S. military hardware.
With that said, there are contractural issues that deal with sensitive technology. That is freely admitted. We have the right, and it is well within our interest, to limit access to sensitive technology. That doesn't mean the weapons won't work, nor does it mean that we can send some digital burst out into the ether and have F-16's fall from the sky. Please, can't we let go of this notion? It's like the fake moon landing conspiracy.
Thanks.