F-16 Fighting Falcon News

March 31, 2006 (by Lieven Dewitte) - The United States Air Force contractually accepted the first new F-16 aircraft for the Poland Peace Sky program on March 30. The Poland Peace Sky program is comprised of 48 new F-16 block 52+ aircraft, including 36 F-16C and 12 F-16D aircraft.
The acceptance marks a major milestone for the program as it reflects the completion of the research and development phase for the F-16C, or single-seat model, aircraft. All tooling is complete and full-rate production can now begin.

Contractual aircraft acceptances occur with the signing of the DD-250 (Department of Defense Form 250) by officials of the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), on behalf of the customer nation.

"The first delivery is an important milestone in that it demonstrates that the program continues to progress on schedule" said Irma Sippel, director, Poland Peace Sky program.

This advanced version of the F-16 block 52+ includes APG-68 (V) 9 radar, a Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), an Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare System (AIDEWS), Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), color moving maps, Link – 16 and Conformal Fuel Tank (CFT) provisions.