Lockheed Martin revealed the first F-16 Viper Block 70/72 fighter built at its new facility in South Carolina

American company Lockheed Martin published a photo of the first F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter, which was produced at the plant in South Carolina.

Here's What We Know

The main facility for the production of the F-16 of the year was a plant in Texas. However, the company decided to move capacity to a facility in Greenville, South Carolina. This was due to increased demand for fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters.

Lockheed Martin's plant in South Carolina will produce Viper-level aircraft for Slovakia, Bulgaria, Jordan and Taiwan, as well as another unnamed customer. And Bulgaria has ordered two batches of fighters (8 units each).

The first aircraft built at the new company - F-16 Viper Block 70/72. It has the designation F-16V. The fighter is intended for the Bahraini Air Force, and the transfer of the aircraft is scheduled for 2023. In the first quarter of the next year there will be flight tests of the fighter at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The F-16 Viper Block 70/72 is equipped with an AN/APG-83 active phased array radar developed by Northrop Grumman. Other upgrades include a new Raytheon onboard computer, the Link 16 communications system, a collision warning system and an enhanced electronic warfare station. The Block 70/72 level fighter is equipped with a General Electric F110-GE-129 engine.

Source: The Drive