US Plans To Sell 50 F-16 Block 50/52 Fighters To Israel for 2 Billion Dollars
;The Department of Defense announced today the possible sale to the Government of Israel of 50 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft; 50 AN/APG-68(V)X radars; and 30 each LANTIRN navigation and targeting pods. All aircraft will be configured with either the F100-PW-229 or F110-GE-129 engines by direct commercial sale; Night Vision Goggle compatible cockpits; conformal fuel tanks; and the capability to employ the AIM-120, AIM-9, and a wide variety of air-to-surface munitions. Associated support equipment, software development/integration, spares and repair parts, flight test instrumentation, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics personnel services, and other related requirements to ensure full program supportability will also be provided. The estimated cost is $2.0 billion. ;This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. ;Israel needs these aircraft to augment its present operational inventory and to enhance its air-to-air and air-to-ground self-defense capability. The F-16 enhances Israel's ability to defend itself and supports U.S. regional objectives for Israel's national security and maintenance of Israel's qualitative edge. Israel, which already has F-16 aircraft in its inventory, will have no difficulty absorbing these additional aircraft. ;The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not affect the basic military balance in the region. ;The prime contractor will be Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Fla. Under this sale, the contractor will incur offset obligations under an existing industrial cooperation agreement. ;Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government personnel to Israel. A number of U.S. contractor representatives, to be determined during program implementation, will be required in Israel to conduct Contractor Engineering Technical Services (CETS) for a three-year period after aircraft delivery. ;There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.
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US Plans To Sell 50 F-16 Block 50/52 Fighters To Israel for 2 Billion Dollars
