Lockheed awarded US$1.85bn F-16 contract

Two ROCAF F-16s sit on the tarmac

The ball is now rolling for the upgrade program, which will greatly enhance the capabilities of Taiwan’s existing F-16s 

US-based Lockheed Martin Corp announced on Monday it has been awarded a US$1.85 billion contract by the US government to initiate the upgrade of Taiwan’s 145 Block 20 F-16A/B aircraft. 

The multi-year retrofit is part of a US$5.2 billion package notified to US Congress in September last year and will include Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, embedded global positioning and upgrades to the electronic warfare systems and avionics. 

The defense firm, which will also be the prime integrator for the upgrade of 300 US Air Force (USAF) F-16s, said both programs would be based on the F-16V, for “Viper,” configuration. The new version, the result of input from the USAF and foreign clients, was unveiled at the Singapore Air Show. 

My article, published today in the Taipei Times, continues here.