The RSAF has taken delivery of the first of 30 Block 52 F-16CJ/DJs ordered from LMTAS. In a ceremony at Fort Worth, Chief of Singapore Defense Forces Lt. Gen. Bey Soo Khiang, formally accepted an F-16D with serial #94-0274.
Norway's Defense Ministry has published a plan to reduce the airforce structure from three main airbases and 14 smaller bases to four main airbases and eight deployment bases.
The Chilean government has requested details of financing proposals from companies bidding for its multi-billion dollar multi-role fighter requirement.
The 12th AF demo team showed off the F-16 at the "Feria International Del Aire y El Espacio", the largest air and trade show in Latin America. In Santiago, Chile, hundreds of thousands of people watched and listened as the team demonstrated the capabilities of the F-16FightingFalcon. Capt. Bruce "Blade" Everett performed daily March 24-29for the crowds at Los Cerillos Airport.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero) is developing an upgradecapability for the F-16 fighter aircraft. ST Aero's F-16 activities are limited to depot-level maintenance insupport of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), but it is envisaged that the service's oldest F-16A/B aircraft will be in line for upgrades, while other F-16 users in the region (including Thailand) will also develop upgrade requirements.
Rumor has it that a benignly cheap price is being asked for second-hand F-16s, which will help beef up the African Crisis Response Force, should it ever come to anything.
The Bahrain government has agreed to allow a US Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) to extend its deployment in the emirate for another 60 days in view of the uncertainty over Iraq's intentions regarding UN arms inspections.
The Republic of China Air Force has grounded its F-16 fighters after a two-seat trainer crashed on 20 March, leaving the two crew members missing at sea. Forty-four of the 150 aircraft ordered in 1992 have been delivered to date.
Lockheed Martin's fighter plant in Fort Worth, Texas, recently became the first major aircraft manufacturer and aerospace company to be recommended for Aerospace Standard (AS) 9000 recognition.
Rumors say that the United States will offer South African National Defense Force (SANDF) F-16 fighter jets. These would probably be second-hand U.S. Air Force F-16 B and C variants, which are being phased out as they are replaced by the latest D-series planes.
Three missiles jettisoned in an emergency by a U.S. fighter jet returning from Kurdish-held northern Iraq were destroyed in a controlled explosion in southern Turkey on Friday.
Pakistan Day was celebrated on Monday, 23 March. PAF aircraft including the F-16, Mirage-5, MIG-7P, and MIG A-5 participated in the spectacular fly-by during a joint services parade in the capital city(Islamabad). Two F-16s each from the 9th and 11th Squadrons at Sargodha AB performed flight demonstrations with smokewinders. The Chief of the Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi, in an 11th Squadron F-16participated in the flight demonstrations.
Poland has put the purchase of modern multipurpose fighter aircraft on the backburner to save government revenues for costly social reforms and other military needs. A fast purchase of Western aircraft is not required by the NATO alliance, which Poland expects to join next year along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. NATO officials had made clear it did not want Polandto bleed itself dry paying for hefty arms programs in the next few years.
A consortium of aircraft from the two Block 32 Fighter Squadrons performed a fly-by at the ROK Air Force Academy, Friday, 20 March for the 1998graduation ceremony. The graduation was attended by the newly appointed Defense Minister Chun, Yong-Taek and ROKAF Chief-of-Staff, General Lee, Kwang-Hak, as well as many of the Korean dignitaries.
Due to budgetary constraints, the US Air Force (USAF) is facing a short fall of 25 Lockheed Martin F-16s in the future, according to Lt. Gen George Muellner, principal deputy assistant secretary of the air force for acquisition. This deficiency could be resolved by reshuffling assets, reducing exercises and re-examining anticipated deployment rates.
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