Lockheed Martin given contract to produce 16 F-16Vs for RBAF

[Corsair1963]

The newly-established F-16 production line in Greenville, South Carolina will soon be churning out F-16Vs for the Royal Bahraini Air Force. The production contract worth $1.1 billion was awarded by the Pentagon to Lockheed Martin on Jun. 22. The work is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2023, according to Release No: CR-119-18.


https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/ ... vDelivery/

[ruderamronbo]

The Strategical Journal posted this drawing of the Block 70. What I thought was a dual AMRAAM launcher is actually a TRIPLE launcher!! Anyone heard anything about this?

[Corsair1963]

The F-16V could easily take over for the F-15C in the Air Superiority Role in ANG Service. That is until the USAF can purchase enough F-35's...

[basher54321]

The Strategical Journal posted this drawing of the Block 70. What I thought was a dual AMRAAM launcher is actually a TRIPLE launcher!! Anyone heard anything about this?

Yes is on the Spec for the Indian Block 70 proposal:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=54088

Interesting to see if anyone else takes it up

[basher54321]

Lockheed news article

Lockheed Martin eceived a $1.12 billion contract from the U.S. government to produce 16 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft for the Royal Bahraini Air Force. The Undefinitized Contract Action award represents the first F-16 Block 70 sale and the first F-16 production program to be performed in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is the first customer to procure the F-16 Block 70, the newest and most advanced F-16 production configuration.

"We value our long-standing relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain and look forward to beginning production activities on their first Block 70 aircraft at our facility in Greenville," said Susan Ouzts, vice president of Lockheed Martin's F-16 Program. "This sale highlights the significant, growing demand we see for new production F-16s around the globe."

Lockheed Martin expects F-16 production to create between 150 and 200 new jobs in Greenville. F-16 production also supports hundreds of U.S.-based Lockheed Martin engineering, procurement, sustainment and customer support jobs and thousands of U.S. supplier jobs. The F-16 supply chain is currently supported by 450 U.S. suppliers in 42 states.

The F-16 Block 70 features advanced avionics, a proven Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, a modernized cockpit, advanced weapons, conformal fuel tanks, an automatic ground collision avoidance system, an advanced engine and an industry-leading extended structural service life of 12,000 hours.

The combat-proven F-16 continues to prove itself as the world's most successful, combat-proven multi-role fighter. To date, 4,604 F-16s have been procured by 28 customers around the world. Approximately 3,000 operational F-16s are flying today with 25 leading air forces, including the U.S. Air Force.

Source: https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-06 ... 0002856377

[edpop]

Only have to produce about 600 more to pass the Phantom....................

[Fox1]

An F-16 with 10 air to air missiles and an AESA radar would provide a level of capability that starts to encroach upon the Eagle, Flanker, Super Hornet and a number of other air superiority fighters. I suppose we could have had that capability in the F-16 all along, but the Air Force probably purposefully handicapped it for years, so as to not harm F-15 procurement. It is interesting how this capability suddenly pops up now that the F-15C/D future is looking kind of cloudy.

[basher54321]

GREENVILLE, S.C., Dec. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) hosted Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashed Al Khalifa, ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States, at the company's F-16 production line, where production is underway on the first F-16 Block 70 ‒ for the Royal Bahraini Air Force.

"Lockheed Martin's partnership with Bahrain began more than 40 years ago and it continues today with the F-16," said Bridget Lauderdale, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Integrated Fighter Group. "Bahrain was the first country in the Gulf region to acquire the F-16 and the first customer in the world to procure the advanced F-16 Block 70."

https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2019-12 ... assets_all

[marsavian]

LM begins F-16V production for Bahrain

Lockheed Martin has begun production of 16 F-16V Block 70/72 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft for Bahrain, the company announced on 17 December.

The event was marked by a visit to the production facility at Greenville, South Carolina, by Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashed Al Khalifa, ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States.

In June 2018, Bahrain became the launch customer for the F-16V when it signed a USD1.12-billion contract for 16 new aircraft. The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) will also upgrade its 20 Block 40 F-16C/D aircraft to this latest standard to make a total fleet of 36 F-16V aircraft.

As the most up-to-date version of the Fighting Falcon, the F-16V features the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar (derived from the F-16E/F Block 60 AN/APG-80 and also known as the Scalable Agile Beam Radar), a new Raytheon mission computer, the Link 16 datalink, modern cockpit displays, an enhanced electronic warfare system, and a ground-collision avoidance system.

[Fox1]

Anyone have any idea what the flyaway cost is in present dollars for late model Vipers?

[jedit]

Anyone have any idea what the flyaway cost is in present dollars for late model Vipers?

That is a loaded question as there are quite a number of variables.