Lockheed Martin Wins $996M To Upgrade 84 F-16s To V-configuration

Lockheed Martin has won $996 million to upgrade 84 F-16 multirole fighter aircraft to the V-configuration.

Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas; and Athens, Greece, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2027. It involves 100 percent Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to the government of Greece, United States (US) Department of Defense said in a statement Thursday.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon (Viper) multirole aircraft’s key features include a frameless bubble canopy for better visibility, side-mounted control stick to ease control while maneuvering, a seat reclined 30 degrees to reduce the effect of g-forces on the pilot, and the first use of a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire flight control system which helps to make it a nimble aircraft. The F-16 has an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 locations for mounting weapons and other mission equipment. 

The core of the F-16V configuration is an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, a modern commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based avionics subsystem, a large-format, high-resolution display; and a high-volume, high-speed data bus. Operational capabilities are improved by Link-16 Theater Data Link, Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, weapons, precision GPS navigation, and the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS), according to the company.