Bahraini, US and Lockheed Martin officials today celebrated the delivery of the first F-16V Block 70 to the Royal Bahrain Air Force at Lockheed Martin in Greenville, South Carolina. The Kingdom of Bahrain has a unique history with the F-16. The world’s first F-16 Operator: The first F-16 operator in the Gulf Cooperation Council in the early 1990s, and now the delivery of the first F-16V Block 70. This Block 70 is the first 16 aircraft. It will return to Bahrain and make its maiden flight on January 24, 2023. From there, it will begin additional flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base before arriving in Bahrain in 2024.
“The F-16 celebrated today was built by talent and hard work in Greenville. We are proud to call Greenville the global home of the F-16 and look forward to continuing to produce aircraft that serve missions around the world,” said Danya Trent, vice president, F-16 Programs and Head of Greenville.
“The ceremony represents the current generation of powerful and proven F-16 ambassadors, and Lockheed Martin’s commitment to advancing this program demonstrates this aircraft’s many necessary and advanced security capabilities for the 21st century fighter,” said OJ Sanchez. vice president of the Integrated Fighter Group.
Six nations chose the F-16V Block 70/72 aircraft (nicknamed “Viper”). The F-16V will include enhancements such as the AN/APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned (AESA) radar, updated mission architecture and computer, and cockpit enhancements. In addition to the current official pipeline to build 127 reactors at Greenville, Jordan has been awarded a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for 12 reactors and Lockheed Martin contracts to begin long-term operations. Bulgaria also signed an LOA for eight reactors for its fleet. After finishing, the order belongs to the 147th book.
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American multi-engine fighter first developed by General Dynamics. In 1993, General Dynamics sold the aircraft business to Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global aerospace and security company that employs approx. 116,000 people worldwide and is primarily engaged in research, design, development, manufacturing, integration and support of technology systems, products and services.
