LOCKHEED MARTIN: ROYAL BAHRAINI AIR FORCE TO RECEIVE FIRST F-16 BLOCK 70 AIRCRAFT

Bahraini, American and Lockheed Martin officials recently celebrated the first F-16 Block 70 for the Royal Bahraini Air Force today at Lockheed Martin in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has a unique history with the F-16: It was the first F-16 operator in the Gulf Cooperation Council beginning in the early 1990s, and now is receiving the first F-16 Block 70. This F-16 Block 70 jet is the first of 16 jets for Bahrain and took its first flight on Jan. 24, 2023. From here, it will begin additional flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base before arriving in Bahrain in 2024.

Six countries have selected Block 70/72 aircraft. In addition to the current official backlog of 127 jets to-date to be built in Greenville, Jordan has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for 12 jets and Lockheed Martin has received a contract to begin its long-lead activities. Bulgaria has also signed an LOA for an additional eight jets for its fleet. Once these are finalized, the backlog will increase to 147.