The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $4.21 billion sale to Jordan of 12 Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-16C Block 70 fighters, four F-16D Block 70s, munitions, and relevant support services, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on Feb. 3.
The sale also includes 21 Pratt & Whitney [RTX] F100-PW229EEP engines, 21 Northrop Grumman [NOC] AN/APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Scalable Agile Beam Radars (SABR), six Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP); 402 Northrop Grumman FMU-139 or Kaman Corp. [KAMN] FMU-152 joint programmable fuzes; one hundred Boeing [BA] KMU-556 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits for 2,000 pound GBU-31 bombs; 102 KMU-572 JDAM tail kits for 500 pound laser-guided JDAM GBU-54s; 100 Lockheed Martin MAU-209 Computer Control Groups (CCG) for Paveway II GBU-10s; BAE Systems‘ AN/ALE-47 countermeasure dispenser systems (CMDS); and other equipment and support.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a major non-NATO ally that is an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” DSCA said on Feb. 3. “The proposed sale will improve Jordan’s capability to meet current and future threats by ensuring continued interoperability with U.S. and coalition forces. These aircraft will modernize the Jordanian fighter aircraft fleet and support operational requirements associated with regional U.S.-coalition goals, such as countering violent extremist organizations, countering malign state and non-state actors, and border defense.”
Last February, the State Department approved a possible $60 million Foreign Military Sale to Jordan for an F-16 Air Combat Training Center and related equipment (Defense Daily, Feb. 11, 2021).