“H Sixteen D W Twenty-Six Oh Two Dash Two Fourteen” was one of the first things I heard in a meeting when I started working at InterConnect Wiring. Wow! That engineer just rattled that off like it was their first-born child’s name, I thought to myself. I can’t wait to learn what that means and why it was so important that they knew it off the top of their head. I bet it has to do with F-16’s.
H16DW2602-214 does have to do with F-16’s, and more specifically is a wiring harness for an F-16. It is understandable for people new to aerospace not to know what that electrical part is or what it does off the top of their head. However, there is a method to the madness of identifying F-16 electrical parts by their name and number designation.
Before going any further, this blog is focused on naming conventions used by Lockheed Martin for their F-16 electrical parts. InterConnect is the only Authorized Licensee for All F-16 Electrical Products for Lockheed Martin. Because of this, F-16 electrical parts are referred to by their Lockheed Martin part numbers at InterConnect, not by NSN. Perhaps a follow up blog on NSN naming conventions might be a good idea for the future.
Engineers like having systems, so when a Lockheed Martin engineer names an electrical part for an F-16 they have a process. Sure, these engineers could theoretically name the first harness they design 1A, the
second harness they design 1B, and so on and so forth. However, that would be difficult to remember and identify once there were hundreds if not thousands of electrical parts designed for the F-16.
Instead, F-16 engineers break the names of electrical parts down into three sections shown in the image below.
The first part of the part number is the Prefix. H16DW2602-214 starts like many of the electrical wiring harnesses and panels you will see on the production floor at InterConnect Wiring when you come for a tour. That is because H16DW stands for an F-16 Wiring Harness and we have been making these wiring harnesses since we started our company in 1993! In fact, all electrical harnesses and panels that go into an F-16 or support an F-16 on the ground have a “16” present in its prefix. The table below shows the prefixes that make up the first part of an electrical part’s assembly number.
The second part of H16DW2602-214, is the harness drawing number. The drawing number correlates with different locations inside the F-16. For example, F-16 wiring harnesses with the part number in the H16DW2600’s are located in the mid fuselage of the jet, while F-16 harnesses in the H16DW2800 series are located in the wing.
And finally, what about the third part? What about the numbers after the dash on H16DW2602-214? That section of the part number is called the assembly dash number. The rest of the part number could be the exact same, but a different assembly dash number means there was a change made to the electrical wiring harness. The change is most commonly a different parts list, routing list, and/or drawing. The rest of the electrical part number will be the same because it is still the same part type and
in the same location, but the assembly dash number means that harness may have different connections (connectors, contacts, etc).
Nowadays, new F-16 fighter jets have wiring harnesses made by InterConnect Wiring using TKT right out of the box. For Modified or Upgraded F-16’s, the wiring harness dash numbers will change and will
always require replacing Kapton Wire with TKT. A dash number might also change due to the inclusion of coax or fiber optic cable assemblies for greater capability and less weight.
Let’s review: F-16 electrical wiring harnesses are broken down into three different sections as follows, (1) Prefix, (2) Harness Drawing Number, and (3) Assembly Dash Number. Similar to F-16 wiring harnesses, one will observe cockpit panels, circuit breaker panels, matrix assemblies, and ground support equipment have the designation “16” in their part numbers, too.
When you break down the part number of F-16 electrical wiring harnesses it becomes easier to understand. Feel free to call me at 817.377.9473 to discuss F-16 wiring harness and panel part numbering or complete this form to schedule an in-person tour.
