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Egypt places order for 20 F-16s

March 3, 2010 (by Laurie Quincy) - The U.S. government has awarded an initial $213 million to Lockheed Martin for long-lead tasks for the production of 20 new Advanced block 52 F-16 aircraft for Egypt.

The 4000th F-16 delivered by Lockheed was F-16C #0103 for the Egyptian Air Force. This was only a pre-delivery serial based on the FY allocation (96-0103). It was reserialled 9728. [Lockheed Martin photo]

"This is a great day for Lockheed Martin and a testament to the enduring partnership and commitment we have made to the government of Egypt. We remain committed to providing our customer with a proven, advanced 4th Generation multi-role fighter," said John Larson, vice president, Lockheed Martin F-16 programs.

"This marks the 53rd follow-on buy of F-16s by 14 repeat customers. The aircraft we will deliver to Egypt will join the fleet of more than 4,400 F-16s representing 25 nations."

The new aircraft order includes 16 F-16Cs and 4 F-16Ds, and will supplement the Egyptian Air Force's (EAF) existing fleet of F-16s and contribute to the modernization of the EAF. The final Egyptian F-16 under this contract will be delivered in 2013.

Egypt was the first Arab country to purchase F-16s through a Foreign Military Sales program called Peace Vector. The Egyptian Air Force received a total of 42 F-16s in its first order in 1980 and since then has purchased five more lots of aircraft, for a total of 240 F-16 Fighting Falcons.


Courtesy of Lockheed Martin Corporation

Additional images:

A five-ship formation of Egyptian AF F-16C block 40s (#9981, #9969, #9984, #9976, #9973) over the pyramids. These aircraft were delivered from 1994 to 1995 under the Peace Vector IV program. The day-glo panels help distinguish them from F-16s from neighbouring countries. [Egyptian AF photo]
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