Lockheed Martin is to produce new F-16 fighter aircraft for FMS customers over the next ten years, under a $62 billion contract from the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.
The contract was announced by the DoD on 14 August. It confirmed: ‘This contract involves 100% FMS to FMS partner nations and is the result of a sole-source acquisition.’
An initial delivery order for 90 aircraft is worth $4.94 billion, including pre-priced recurring core configuration costs and engineering change proposal costs.
Work on this initial order will be primarily performed in Greenville, South Carolina, for completion by the end of December 2026.
The DoD did not officially disclose the identity of the FMS customers, although it is possible that the latest contract is connected to the Taiwanese procurement of 66 F-16V Viper aircraft. That FMS deal was approved in August 2019.
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