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Greenville Business Magazine

Lockheed Martin Delivers First F-16 Block 70 in Greenville

Mar 10, 2023 10:32AM ● By David Dykes

(Photo By David Dykes)

Bahraini, American and Lockheed Martin officials celebrated the first F-16 Block 70 for the Royal Bahraini Air Force at Lockheed Martin in Greenville, S.C., on Friday, March 10, 2023.

The F-16 Block 70 is the first of 16 jets for Bahrain, and took its first flight on Jan. 24, 2023. 

From Greenville, it will begin additional flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base in Calif., before arriving in Bahrain in 2024.

The jet was built by Lockheed Martin in Greenville, the F-16’s global home.

Six countries have selected Block 70/72 aircraft.

In addition to the official backlog of 127 jets to be built in Greenville, Jordan has signed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for 12 jets.

Bulgaria has signed an LOA for an additional eight jets for its fleet.

Once those are finalized, the backlog will increase to 147.