WASHINGTON

A factory in the US state of South Carolina, where parts from 470 different suppliers from eight countries are assembled, is described as a “center of excellence” by Lockheed Martin.

Aircraft assembly, test flights and delivery to customers are carried out at the base in Greenville.

Anadolu interviewed the sales and production managers of the F-16 project and asked pilots who tested the Block 70 and 72 series about the prominent features of the new platform.

Aimee P. Burnett, vice president of aviation strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin Integrated Combat Aircraft Group, said eight F-16 Block 70 aircraft have so far been tested and flown at Greenville.

Stressing that the company is at the final stage of reaching a production rate of four aircraft per month, Burnett said it has received 131 orders from Bahrain, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Taiwan Jordan and another country, which was not named.

Emphasizing that the Greenville factory has so far delivered nine of the orders to relevant countries, Burnett said that even when the factory reaches its targeted production rate, it will take three years to complete current orders.

Burnett noted that the sales process for 300 aircraft, including Turkey's request for 40 F-16 Block 70s, is ongoing, and the production capacity will be reviewed if the new order is finalized.

Pointing out that Lockheed is always trying to create new opportunities with different suppliers to offer more competitive prices and terms for the F-16 project, Burnett said, “We have had a very long partnership with Türkiye in the past."

Underlining that Lockheed has cooperated with the Turkish defense industry since the 1980s, she added that the US company did a very important job with the joint assembly in Türkiye to support the aircraft program.

Burnett said that as a result of the negotiations between Washington and Ankara, there is a possibility of cooperation with Türkiye in Block 70 production.

Life-saving autonomous technologies in new F-16s

The most important feature of the Block 70 and 72 series F-16s is that they have radar technology similar to the ones used in the F-35s. Thanks to the Northrop Grumman SABR APG-83 radar, the pilot has a wider visibility radius. The pilot can see friendly and hostile elements on his screen earlier and can communicate with multiple allied aircraft and ground elements.

The screens in the cockpit are also much larger than before, and the graphic features have a higher resolution quality. The pilot's perception of the battlefield is enhanced at every layer, with color moving maps, expanded air-to-air status indicators and zoom functionality.

Ryan Blake, a former US Air Force fighter pilot, is now the test pilot responsible for reviewing every detail of Lockheed Martin's next-generation F-16s. Blake, who also flew F-16s in the US Air Force, evaluates the changes made to the aircraft over the years from a pilot's perspective.

Explaining that the F-16s, which have a Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS) that concerns the safety of pilots and can easily make turns up to 9G force, are known for their agility and steep climb angles, Blake emphasized that the perception of the horizon line can be lost due to the effect of pressure and adrenaline During the sharp maneuvers defined as “dogfights” in air battles, which pilots perform while chasing enemy aircraft.

He added that it happens more often in scenarios where the blue of the sea and the blue of the sky mix, highlighting that in Block 70s, in this problem or in emergencies, the pilot presses a single button and the aircraft recovers and positions itself according to the horizon line.

Blake emphasized that one of the features of the F-16s that excites him the most is the autonomous safety system known as the “automatic ground collision avoidance system.”

Stating that the system detects the aircraft's proximity to the ground, Blake noted that it automatically activates and raises the aircraft to a safe height depending on the speed and proximity.

He stressed that if the pilot is disengaged for any reason, it is either because of the high G-force or because he is focused on locking on to a target, adding that if for any other reason the pilot does not track altitude, the aircraft can save the pilot's life.

He said the “technology has already saved the lives of 13 pilots.”

Block 70's fuselage structure has also been strengthened.

Having witnessed 40 years of the 50-year history of the F-16, Project Director and Chief Engineer Mike McSpadden is familiar with every detail of the Block 70.

McSpadden said the Block 70's airframe structure has been strengthened as much as the changes in the electronic flight systems of the aircraft, and noted that the period has been increased to 12,000 hours in the new generation of F-16s, which previously had a flight life of 8,000 hours.

Noting that the US Air Force identified points that could be improved as a result of an examination of the Block 50 fuselage, McSpadden emphasized that it has improved 26 areas.

He highlighted that it increased the service life of the aircraft by 50%.

Türkiye's new F-16 request completes congressional process in US

Regardless of Türkiye's need for fifth-generation fighter jets, the Turkish Air Force had made new requests to the US to update its fleet of F-16 fighter jets.

Accordingly, Türkiye had requested 40 new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets and modernization kits for 79 aircraft in its inventory.

Ankara's request completed the US congressional process, and negotiations between the parties for the final agreement had begun. The process continues with the negotiations of the parties.

With more than 230 aircraft of different generations, Türkiye has the second-largest F-16 fleet after the US.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel from Istanbul