Orbital's Fairchild Defense Becomes Member of Block 60 F-16 Program

Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Fairchild Defense division will supply a mass memory and data transfer system to Lockheed Martin as part of its deal to sell the most modern F-16s to the United Arab Emirates. The deal to be part of the Block 60 aircraft will bring Orbital $26 million. Equipment to be installed will include terrain-referenced navigation and ground collision avoidance systems, along with solid-state video recording equipment. The company is negotiating with Lockheed Martin to supply a modular mission support system that would allow crews to practice missions on the ground and transfer data to the cockpit. The deal isn't the first involving Orbital and the UAE, as Fairchild Defense is supplying data transfer equipment and modular mission support system equipment to UAE for its Mirage 2000/9 aircraft. That contract was worth $30 million. Donald P. Ryan, general manager of Fairchild Defense noted that the F-16 deal "will enhance our already solid relationship with the UAE air force and air defense."