Posted on 05/16/2011 8:24:10 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Lockheed hopes to finalize F-16 sales to Iraq, Oman
7:50pm EDT
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) says it hopes to sign sales contracts for up to 18 F-16 fighter jets to both Iraq and Oman by early 2012, and expects to book a total of about 100 additional orders by the end of the decade.
Lockheed is gradually winding down production of the popular multi-role fighter, which is in use by 25 countries worldwide, and was once produced at a rate of one a day, as it ramps up production of the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The company has delivered 4,475 F-16s and has a backlog of 65 orders, which means production at the company's Fort Worth, Texas plant will continue at the current rate of one to two planes a month for several years.
Lockheed had hoped to sell hundreds more F-16s to foreign militaries in coming years, but India last month eliminated both the F-16 and Boeing Co's (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) F/A-18 Super Hornet from a competition to provide 126 fighters, and a possible sale of 66 planes to Taiwan has been on the back burner for some time.
The Pentagon's No. 1 supplier by sales, Lockheed is finishing work on 24 single- and two-seater F-16 fighter jets for Morocco at the Fort Worth plant, and will deliver those airplanes in August.
Bill McHenry, Lockheed's head of F-16 business development, said the company is still pursuing some possible additional F-16 sales, as well
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Omani F-16s
How long before US fighters engage those Muslim F-16s as enemies?
Definitely looks like conformal fuel tanks in the wings, no?
Yes.
Which will doubtless be used against Israel.
That's not important in this corrupt - bought & paid for - nation. As long as the corps make out good who are we to doubt. Yea, send your children or grand children to fight these useless wars to put money in the pockets of no lesser creeps than the Taliban.
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