A Deep Dive into the Lockheed Martin F-16 Production Development

A Deep Dive into the Lockheed Martin F-16 Production Development

Aerospace Manufacturing has been following the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon program.  Here’s what you need to know.

The F-16 is the most successful multipurpose fighter jet presently in service. The 3,000 jets fly in 25 countries. The F-16 Block 70/72 is the latest and most technically advanced configuration of the F-16.

It boasts new abilities extracted from the F-16V configuration. The new flyer has a structural life that exceeds previous F-16 models by 50 percent. The new avionics architecture lengthens the structural life of the plane even more.

Production started on the F-16 on November 11, 2019 in Greenville, South Carolina. Production startup dovetails perfectly with the rapidly growing market for F-16s all over the world.

The work is generating an abundance of jobs in the Greenville area that are supported by suppliers in 41 states. In addition to structural and capability upgrades, new production guarantees that the international F-16 fleet will be in service until 2016 or longer.

The F-16 Block 70/72 has other upgraded capabilities such as Advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar. The new plane comes equipped with high-tech software that wasn’t available with earlier versions of the plane.

Additional features include advanced datalink, targeting pod and weapons. The F-16 is fitted with precision GPS navigation in addition to the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS).

With almost 40 years of F-16 weapon integration experience, no other company can compare with Lockheed Martin. In conjunction with the U.S. Air Force and foreign military sales customers, the company has certified over 3,300 carriage and release configurations for over 180 weapon and store types.

Lockheed Martin’s experience as a weapons integrator has equipped the F-16 to become one of the most versatile multi-role fighter jets in history. As an F-16 Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Lockheed Martin can design, engineer, integrate and sustain an F-16 weapons system that’s customized to meet your needs.

 

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