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Block 60 F-16s Offered to Singapore
Lockheed Martin is showing a cockpit demonstrator for the F-16
Block 60 here for the first time, and for a good reason: the company
is offering the latest version of the veteran F-16 to Singapore,
which is looking for a high-end fighter to complement its existing
force of F-16s.
It's the first time that the Block 60 has been offered to a new
customer since the project was launched by the United Arab Emirates
in early 2000. Lockheed Martin is developing the Block 60 under
a commercial-type contract with the UAE.
The Lockheed demonstrator here shows that the F-16 Block 60 avionics
owe a great deal to the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter. The new
fighter has a completely new cockpit, with three 5 x 7 inch color
displays. Behind the displays is a fiber-optic high-speed datalink,
a new mission computer based on commercial technology, and a data
transfer system using 30-gigabyte cartridges.
In action, the Block 60 displays share the "look and feel"
of the F-22. Threats and friendlies, identified by the Northrop
Grumman electronic warfare suite, by AWACS or other means, are
distinguished by shape and color on the screens. A single button-push
creates a "shoot list" on the right-hand attack display,
assigning an AMRAAM to the closest targets.
Unlike the basic F-22, though, the Block 60 also creates a "bomb
list" for air-to-ground targets or a "jam list"
for electronic threats. The APG-80 radar has a variable resolution
synthetic aperture radar (VRSAR) mode that allows the pilot to
identify aimpoints within a target complex such as a SAM site.
Again, single-switch angles allow the pilot to toggle between
SAR, EW and infra-red displays.
The F-16 Block 60 is due to fly in 2003 and the first aircraft
will be delivered in 2004. The advanced avionics modes will be
released in blocks between 2004 and 2007, so Singapore could receive
the aircraft any time after 2005. The UAE has chosen the GE F110-GE-132
engine, but Pratt & Whitney is still offering the F100-PW-232
for Singapore and other customers.
By Bill Sweetman
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