July 13, 2000 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
Lockheed Martin said on Friday that Thailand will buy 16 of its F-16 fighter planes.
The Thai government signed a letter of agreement for the 16 F-16A/B Block 15 aircraft in the air defense fighter configuration. The planes are part of the United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 inventory.
The F-16s, originally put into storage for future Air Force use, will be reconstituted from long-term "boneyard" storage at the Davis-Monthan AFB (AZ). They will be "fully refurbished" fighters with rebuilt Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220E engines.
The additional F-16s will supplement the 36 F-16A/B aircraft Thailand already owns. Aircraft deliveries will begin in the first quarter of 2002. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
