The VEF I-16 was a prototype Latvian fighter aircraft designed by Kārlis Irbītis and produced by VEF in 1939. Development was halted by the Soviet occupation of Latvia and subsequent purges of VEF personnel. In the spring 1940 Latvian air force pilots made the first test flights with VEF I-16. An already obsolete Latvian fighter was of little value to the Soviets and so only one was built. Following Operation Barbarossa, the single example was captured by German forces and tested by the Luftwaffe. The VEF I-16 was used as training aircraft at an aviation school in Torun until 1942.