Lockheed Martin has accomplished the manufacturing of the 14 F-16s Block 70 ordered by Slovakia and the eight of the preliminary order by Bulgaria, with eight extra to be produced as a part of the second batch.
Lockheed Martin has introduced on Dec. 15, 2025, the completion of the manufacturing of the F-16s Block 70 for the Slovakian and Bulgarian Air Forces. Particularly, the plane concerned are the 14 jets ordered by Slovakia and the primary batch of eight plane ordered by Bulgaria.
The plane had been produced at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Greenville, South Carolina, and accomplished DD250 last acceptance by means of the U.S. authorities’s International Navy Gross sales program, stated the corporate in an announcement. Slovakia and Bulgaria are the primary two European operators to acquire newly constructed Block 70s.
“This milestone represents the expertise and dedication of the joint authorities, army and business groups,” stated Mike Shoemaker, vice chairman and normal supervisor of Lockheed Martin’s Built-in Fighter Group. “With full F‑16 Block 70 fleets now produced, each nations transfer from planning for subsequent‑technology airpower to demonstrating it in day by day operations. This progress enhances NATO’s collective readiness and offers commanders with dependable, interoperable twenty first Century Safety functionality throughout the alliance.”
Slovakian Vipers
Slovakia signed its Letter of Supply and Acceptance (LOA) for 14 F-16s in December 2018 in a deal price 1.58 billion Euro (1.8 billion USD), though the manufacturing was delayed for numerous causes, earlier than lastly beginning as soon as the F-16 manufacturing was relocated to Greenville. Of the 14 plane, 12 shall be single seater F-16Cs and two shall be twin-seater F-16D.
The primary flight of a Slovakian F-16 was in September 2023, with the primary two jets delivered in January 2024. As soon as in service, the F-16 Block 70 will substitute Slovakia’s fleet of MiG-29 Fulcrum that had been retired in 2022 and donated to Ukraine.
In July 2024, the primary of 9 Slovak-owned F-16 Block 70s arrived at Morris Air Nationwide Guard Base, Arizona, the place they are going to be a part of the coaching of the preliminary Slovak cadre on F-16 operations. These plane are anticipated to remain in Arizona till 2026.
Bulgarian Vipers
As talked about earlier, the Bulgarian F-16s accomplished are a part of the primary batch. The truth is, Bulgaria acquired the plane in two batches, signing a primary Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for eight F-16s in 2019 and a second LOA for a further eight jets in 2022.
After the 2019 LOA, Lockheed Martin has been awarded a 512M USD contract for the manufacturing of the first eight F-16 Block 70 jets in 2020. In 2022, the second batch of plane was accepted by the federal government, with an acquisition value near $1.3 billion, together with extra spare components and weapons.
The 16 plane will equip the Bulgarian Air Pressure (BuAF) with a full squadron, changing a squadron of 8 MiG-29s. The Fulcrums shall be steadily retired solely after the supply of the F-16s.
The manufacturing of the primary eight Bulgarian plane – six single-seater jets and two twin-seaters – began at the start of 2024, with the primary flight in October 2024. The primary plane was handed over in February 2025.
F-16 Block 70
The F-16 Block 70/72 are essentially the most superior manufacturing Vipers, that are newly constructed versus the F-16V that are current plane upgraded to the identical configuration. To this point, six nations have chosen the F-16 Block 70/72 and Lockheed Martin has a manufacturing backlog of 117 jets, as of February 2025.
Among the many new techniques put in throughout the improve we are able to discover the APG-83 AESA (Energetic Electronically Scanned Array) radar, a brand new Middle Pedestal Show (CPD), the AN/APX-126 Superior IFF (Identification Pal or Foe), Hyperlink 16 datalink, full NVIS (Evening Imaginative and prescient Imaging System) and JHCMS II (Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System II) compatibility, a brand new Embedded GPS/INS (EGI), a contemporary industrial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based avionics subsystem, a high-volume, high-speed information bus and the Automated Floor Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS).
The APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), developed by Northrop Grumman, is an AESA (Energetic Electronically Scanned Array) radar designed to suit the F-16 with no structural, energy or cooling modifications; as well as, it allows the F-16 to detect, monitor and determine a larger variety of targets (reportedly greater than 20 on the similar time) quicker and at longer ranges whereas offering all-weather, high-resolution Artificial Aperture Radar (SAR) mapping. The system additionally built-in a strong digital safety to function in hostile digital environments.
The Block 70 incorporates a new cockpit idea, with the set up of a Middle Pedestal Show (CPD), that gives the pilot with essential tactical information on a excessive decision 6’’x8’’ display screen. The brand new display screen permits pilots to take full benefit of the brand new radar and concentrating on pod information, together with new shade transferring map, a bigger and simpler illustration of the air-to-air situational shows with zoom performance and final however not least the flexibility to change info amongst shows.
“The F-16 Block 70 is the most recent version of one of the vital fight confirmed fighter jets of all time,” stated Col. Thomas Obrochta, 162nd Operations Group commander, when the primary Slovak F-16 Block 70 arrived on the Arizona ANG’s 162nd Wing. “It contains a complicated APG-83 Energetic Electronically Scanned Array [AESA] hearth management radar, a high-resolution Middle Pedestal Show, which offers essential tactical imagery to pilots and permits them to take full benefit of AESA and concentrating on pod information, superior weapons integration, and an prolonged structural lifetime of 12,000 hours– greater than 50 p.c past that of earlier manufacturing F-16 plane.”
