Lockheed Martin to build F-16s in South Carolina

Artist's rendition of the F-16 Block 70 that will be built for the Kingdom of Bahrain at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Greenville, South Carolina.

Lockheed Martin received a $1.2 billion contract from the U.S. government to produce 16 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft for the Royal Bahraini Air Force. The award represents the first F-16 Block 70 sale and the first F-16 production program to be performed in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is the first customer to procure the F-16 Block 70, the newest and most advanced F-16 production configuration.

"We value our long-standing relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain and look forward to beginning production activities on their first Block 70 aircraft at our facility in Greenville," said Susan Ouzts, vice president of Lockheed Martin's F-16 Program. "This sale highlights the significant, growing demand we see for new production F-16s around the globe."

Lockheed Martin expects F-16 production to create between 150 and 200 new jobs in Greenville. F-16 production also supports hundreds of U.S.-based Lockheed Martin engineering, procurement, sustainment, and customer support jobs and thousands of U.S. supplier jobs. The F-16 supply chain is currently supported by 450 U.S. suppliers in 42 states.

The F-16 Block 70 features advanced avionics, active electronically scanned array radar, a modernized cockpit, advanced weapons, conformal fuel tanks, an automatic ground collision avoidance system, an advanced engine, and extended structural service life of 12,000 hours.

To date, 4,604 F-16s have been procured by 28 customers around the world. Approximately 3,000 operational F-16s are flying today with 25 leading air forces, including the U.S. Air Force.