October 20, 2001 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
Lockheed Martin has pledged to its Middle East customers that the U.S. F-16 multi-role fighter will be delivered on schedule. Lockheed Martin has signed deals for F-16s to Egypt, Israel, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The number of F-16s exceed 200.
Executives said that last month Lockheed Martin completed 100 consecutive months of delivering F-16 aircraft on or ahead of schedule. Since June 1993, 851 F-16s were delivered to 12 countries around the world.
"Over the long history of the F-16 production program, we have been on or ahead of schedule 91 percent of the time," Donald Jones, vice president of F-16 programs, said. "This is a remarkable achievement considering the size, complexity and dynamics of the F-16 program."
Lockheed Martin and its predecessor, General Dynamics, has delivered more than 4,000 aircraft since 1978. Last month, the United States delivered two aircraft for Egypt.
