NASA's single-seat F-16XL (ship #1), tail number 849, is stationed at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. It arrived at Dryden on March 10, 1989, from General Dynamics in Fort Worth, TX.

The aircraft was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP) to test boundary layer pressures and distribution. The modified airplane featured a delta "cranked-arrow" wing with strips of tubing along the leading edge to the trailing edge to sense static on the wing and obtain pressure distribution data. The right wing received data on pressure distribution and the left wing had three types of instrumentation - preston tubes to measure local skin friction, boundary layer rakes to measure boundary layer profiles (the layer where the air interacts with the surfaces of a moving aircraft), and hot films to determine boundary layer transition locations. The first flight of CAWAP occurred on November 21, 1995, and the test program ended in April 1996.

Previously, the aircraft was used in a program to investigate the characteristics of sonic booms for NASA's High Speed Research Program. During the series of sonic boom research flights, the F-16XL was used to probe the shock waves being generated by a NASA SR-71 and record their shape and intensity. Data from the program could be used in the development of a high speed civilian transport.

The F-16XL aircraft were built by General Dynamics Corp. as prototypes for a derivative fighter evaluation program conducted by the Air Force between 1982 and 1985. The aircraft were developed from basic F-16 airframes. The most notable difference is the delta (cranked arrow) wing which give the aircraft a greater range because of increased fuel capacity in the wing tanks, and a larger load capability due to increased wing area.

The single-seat F-16XL aircraft is powered by a Pratt and Whitney 100-PW-100 engine (with afterburner), rated at 23,830 pounds thrust, and features an analog fly-by-wire electronic flight control system. The delta (cranked arrow) wings on both aircraft provide strength for high wing loads during flight. The aircraft's dimensions are; length, 54.2 feet (16.52 m); wingspan, 34.3 feet (10.45 m); height at vertical tail, 17.7 feet (5.39 m). The aircrafts maximum weight is 48,000 pounds (17915.60 kg), has a design load of 9 "Gs" (In the research configuration, 3 "Gs"), and has a top design speed Mach 1.8.