It Was the Right Jet at the Right Time: the F-16, Amazingly, Very Much Still Is

Closing in on the 25th anniversary of its first flight, the F-16 Fighting Falcon can rightfully claim the title of most successful combat jet ever, with more than 4,000 sold to 21 countries-a tally that could rise to 28 if Lockheed Martin secures the various Eastern European and other deals it's pursuing this year.

The company secured orders for 234 F-16s in 2000 (from the USAF, United Arab Emirates, Korea, Singapore, Israel and Greece), making the Falcon one of the few beacons of prosperity in an otherwise moribund world fighter aircraft market.

Firm orders in hand will sustain production of the F-16 through 2006, Lockheed says, while options and pending sales could maintain production until 2010. "We'll be having additional F-16 sales for the next decade," says Lockheed business development VP Mac Stevenson. The company expects the aircraft to remain in service until 2030, which would give it a working lifespan of more than 50 years.

Accounting for the F-16's extraordinary success is a combination of flexible design allowing for incorporation of ever-advanced weapons systems and avionics, and a bit of serendipity.

"Happily this aircraft came along at a time when electronics were being miniaturized and engines becoming more powerful," Stevenson says. That has allowed for performance upgrades without adding weight. "The airplane has kept ahead of the curve on operational capability," he says, since entering service in January 1979.

At $30.1 million to $34.3 million a copy, the F-16 is "extremely cost-effective," Stevenson says. "Having the U.S. Air Force as a strategic ally has been very important to our foreign buyers," he adds, as they can count on depot and other maintenance support around the world. The USAF has itself bought more than 2,200 F-16s.

In sales competitions the aircraft has a 67% win rate over its lifetime, 75% over the past 10 years, and has accounted for an incredible 100% of U.S. fighter exports over the past five years. It's beaten out aircraft including the F-15, F/A-18, Gripen, Mirage, Eurofighter and Rafale.

Besides ten F-16s to the USAF in fiscal year 2000 and four in 2001 (Block 50 aircraft with F110-GE-100-series engines; Block 52 F-16s have F100-PW-200-series engines), recent business includes:

· $6.4 billion sale of 80 F-16s to the United Arab Emirates with deliveries to run from April 2004 through July 2006;

• ten "inventory" F-16s sold to Italy by the USAF, making Italy the 21st country to operate the Fighting Falcon;

• follow-on sale of 20 F-16s to Singapore; and

• follow-on sale of 20 to Korea, effectively extending the license for KF-16 production in Sachon to 140 aircraft and keeping the Korea Aerospace Industries production line there open through 2004.

"We are very proud of our record of repeat buys," says Stevenson. Egypt, for example, has notched half a dozen separate F-16 orders over the years. Israel may exercise a 52-aircraft option this year while Greece may add ten to an existing order for 50.

Also pending is a 12-aircraft order by Chile. The F-16 was selected at the end of 2000 and according to Stevenson a contract could be in hand by the end of this year. Chile would become the 22nd F-16 operator. New potentials include Oman, where the Sultan has announced his desire for 12 F-16s, and Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria and the Czech Republic.