U.S. Air Force F-16 pilots and crew chiefs conduct post-flight operations at an undisclosed location in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on Jan. 6. "As a routine exercise Ballast Cannon occurs nearly quarterly with the Royal Bahraini Air Force to support the U.S. Air Force’s rapid expeditionary capabilities by integrating Agile Combat Employment objectives for F-16 Fighting Falcon, KC-135 Stratotanker, and operational support personnel," the Air Force said (U.S. Air Force Photo)
By Frank Wolfe |
1 year ago |
03/06/2024

On March 6, “the first ferry cell” of three Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-16 Block 70s, built in Greenville, S.C., flew to Bahrain, Lockheed Martin said.

In June 2018, the U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a

$1.1 billion foreign military sales (FMS) contract to build 16 F-16 Block 70 fighters for the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF).

Bahrain is the first foreign nation to receive Block 70s.

“To date, Lockheed Martin has produced five F-16 Block 70 jets for Bahrain, with an additional 11 in various stages of production and testing,” Lockheed Martin said. “The initial aircraft are performing flight test missions at Edwards Air Force Base, California, with the 416th Flight Test Squadron.”

The Air Force said last September that it had awarded Lockheed Martin a more than $151 million contract for eight F-16 Block 70 fighters for Bulgaria under FMS (Defense Daily, Sept. 15, 2023).

Since 2019, the U.S. State Department has approved F-16 Block 70/72 sales to Morocco, Taiwan, the Philippines, Bulgaria and Jordan. The 22 Block 70/72 modifications include Link 16, improved avionics/cockpit and engine, conformal fuel tanks for extended range, and the Northrop Grumman [NOC] APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (Defense Daily, March 16, 2022).

“A key safety feature, the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS), introduced in late 2014, has been instrumental in saving the lives of 13 pilots across 12 jets, demonstrating the aircraft’s superior safety and performance capabilities,” Lockheed Martin said on March 6.