Bahrain to receive first batch of F-16Vs in 2024
Bahrain will receive a total of 16 aircraft with deliveries taking place in batches of four until 2025. (Photo: US DoD)
After a setback caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the F-16V delivery programme is back on track for the Royal Bahraini Air Force and it will receive the first batch of fighter jets in early 2024.
The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) will receive its first batch of four F-16 Block 70 jets by the first half of 2024, RBAF Maj Gen Shaikh Hamid bin Abdullah Al Khalifah told reporters at the Manama Air Power Symposium 2022 (MAPS) on 9 November.
Bahrain will receive a total of 16 aircraft with deliveries taking place in batches of four until 2025.
Lockheed Martin received a $1.1 billion contract from the US DoD in 2018 to produce the Block 70 fighter jets for Bahrain, making the country the first customer to buy Lockheed Martin’s latest version of the F-16 design.
The jets will remain at a US-based Lockheed Martin facility where non-flying training activities will take place before they get shipped to Bahrain.
The production of the F-16Vs for Bahrain began in December 2019. The aircraft were meant to be delivered between 2022 and 2023 but disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the programme.
Lockheed Martin developed the F-16V as an advanced fighter alternative that could leverage its existing production infrastructure and global support network, targeted primarily at export customers.
According to the manufacturer, structural and capability upgrades ensure that the F-16 can fly and fight up to 2070 and beyond, which is 50% more than that of previous production F-16 aircraft.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
![Hanwha Aerospace and GA-ASI join forces to co-develop UAVs]()
Hanwha Aerospace and GA-ASI join forces to co-develop UAVs
The $510 million partnership will see Hanwha invest to co-develop and manufacture the Gray Eagle STOL, with a maiden flight test expected by 2027.
-
![Sweden commits to acquire four C-390 Millennium aircraft]()
Sweden commits to acquire four C-390 Millennium aircraft
The acquisition of four C-390 aircraft follows the country’s signing of an MoU in 2023 and formal selection in 2024. It will join the existing contract held by the Netherlands and Austria.
-
![Airbus to fly new CUAS UAV prototype this year]()
Airbus to fly new CUAS UAV prototype this year
The counter-UAS prototype, named Low-cost Air Defence or ‘LOAD’, will be used to combat kamikaze UAS.
