Article Posted on : - Jun 26, 2018

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (BNS): Defence major Lockheed Martin has received a contract worth $1.12 billion from the US Government to produce 16 new F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft for the Royal Bahraini Air Force.

The Undefinitized Contract Action award represents the first F-16 Block 70 sale and the first F-16 production programme to be performed in Greenville, South Carolina, Lockheed said in a statement on June 25. 

The Kingdom of Bahrain is the first customer to procure the F-16 Block 70, the newest and most advanced F-16 production configuration, it said.

The F-16 Block 70 features advanced avionics, an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, a modernized cockpit and advanced weapons among other features.

The combat-proven F-16 has been procured by 28 countries around the world. Around 3,000 operational F-16s are currently flying with 25 leading air forces, including the US Air Force.