Forum: F-16 News

Dubai 09: Lockheed set to close Egypt F-16 sale
By Stephen Trimble

Lockheed Martin confirms that talks with Egypt to buy a seventh batch of F-16s are in the final stage of negotiations and a contract is expected imminently.

The US Congress has already approved the sale of up to 24 F-16s as part of a programme called Peace Vector VII. The final negotiations, however, are for a reduced package of 20 F-16s, says Rick Groesch, Lockheed's regional vice-president for Middle East business development.

Groesch says F-16 orders are normally followed by deliveries starting 36 months later, but the final negotiations include discussions for accelerating the delivery schedule.

Egypt has purchased more than 220 F-16s since the Peace Vector series of contracts began in the early 1980s. Lockheed executives first indicated earlier this year that a follow-on deal with Egypt was likely. It was not clear until recently, however, if US policy would support additional F-16 sales.

But President Barack Obama's speech on Middle East policy in May was held in Cairo, elevating the US relationship with Egypt in regional issues.

The Egypt deal follows relatively recent contracts signed by Oman and the United Arab Emirates for new F-16s. The UAE order introduced the Block 60 version. Oman's purchase, meanwhile, ushered in the Harpoon anti-ship missile for carriage by the F-16 fleet.

Lockheed currently has 76 F-16s in the order backlog, with deliveries scheduled up until 2012. Signing the deal with Egypt was critical to avoid a costly gap on Lockheed's production line.

Lockheed also remains in talks with Iraq and Qatar in the region for new F-16 sales. Other countries, such as Oman and the UAE, have discussed follow-on F-16 purchases with Lockheed, Groesch said.

Middle East militaries are also keen, however, to move beyond so-called fourth-generation fighters, such as the F-16. A top UAE military officer on Saturday said he hoped his country would have a fifth-generation fighter within a couple years.

The US government has not previously identified any country in the Middle East other than Israel as a sales target for the Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, although briefings dating back to 2002 listed the region in long-term sales projections.

Groesch confirms that interest in the Middle East for the F-35 is real.

"All the customers I talk to in the Gulf," he says, "want to fly the F-35."

Egypt agrees to buy up to 24 Lockheed F-16s
Posted Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009

Operation of Lockheed Martin’s F-16 production line in Fort Worth could be extended "perhaps another year" as a result of an agreement, announced Tuesday, under which Egypt would buy up to 24 of the jet fighters, company spokesman Joe Stout said.

"Right now, production in Fort Worth extends through the first quarter of 2012," he said. "It extends it perhaps another year.  . . . It’s very good news."

Lockheed has about 2,100 employees in Fort Worth building the venerable F-16 — the world’s most widely flown jet fighter — at a rate of about two planes per month.

The U.S. government signed an agreement with Egypt on Dec. 24 to sell the planes to the African nation, and the Pentagon had notified Congress of the possible sale in October, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

Stout said Lockheed is expected to enter into a contract with the U.S. government, probably in the first quarter of next year, to produce the planes for Egypt. With contract negotiations ahead, the specific value of the contract isn’t yet known, Stout said.

Production of the planes for Egypt is expected to take about three years from the signing of the contract, Stout said. That could extend the Fort Worth plant’s F-16 production line through the first quarter of 2013, he said.

This is the second piece of good news for Fort Worth’s F-16 operations in a week.

On Dec. 22, Lockheed was awarded an $841.9 million contract to complete production of 24 F-16 fighters for Morocco, as well as for electronic warfare gear and support equipment.

Lockheed Martin said Tuesday that it is "pleased that the U.S. and Egyptian governments have reached agreement" on a program to deliver F-16s to the Egyptian air force. "Egypt has acquired more than 200 F-16s in the past, in six previous orders, and is a valued customer," the Bethesda, Md.-based company said.

The Star-Telegram reported on May 30 that Egypt was potentially interested in buying 24 F-16s. The plane is flown by 25 nations, and more than 4,400 of the aircraft have been delivered over the life of the program.
http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news ... 58757.html