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Brand New F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70 Takes to the Sky First Time, Not in U.S. Colors

There’s a relatively large number of fighter jets currently flying in the skies of the world, but without a doubt, the most successful, at least from a production standpoint, is the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Introduced in the 1970s by General Dynamics, it now counts over 4,500 units, serving the needs of a large number of countries.
F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70 31 photos
Photo: Lockheed Martin
F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70F-16 Fighting Falcon flying over South KoreaF-16 Fighting Falcon over Nevada, August 2022F-16 Fighting Falcon deployed with the 64th Aggressor SquadronF-16 Fighting Falcon over JPARCF-16 Fighting Falcon landing at Yokota Air Base, JapanF-16 Fighting Falcons hiding from the rain in South KoreaF-16 Fighting Falcon during aerial refuelingRomanian Air Force F-16 Fighting FalconsFour F-16 Fighting Falcons flying over RomaniaF-16 Fighting Falcon over the Nevada Test and Training RangeF-16 Fighting Falcons chasing KC-135 StratotankerF-16C Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconF-16C Fighting Falcon taking off from New JerseyAggressor Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon taking offRoyal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16F-16 Fighting Falcon in Operation Inherent ResolveF-16 Fighting Falcons over Niceville, Florida
Like with all other military aircraft, age is not an issue, as upgrades can continuously be performed to keep the multi-role fighter relevant. In the early 2010s, the most recent upgrade pack was introduced for this machine, making it the “most advanced 4th generation fighter ever built.”

It’s called Block 70/72, and it applies to both existing aircraft and new ones being rolled new off the assembly lines. Upgraded ones have been around for a while, but the first brand-new F-16 to feature the new systems just conducted its maiden flight.

The milestone happened on January 24 at the Lockheed Martin facility in Greenville, South Carolina. It saw the plane and its two pilots spend about 50 minutes in the air conducting airworthiness checks, a series of procedures that included looking at the performance of the plane’s engine, flight controls, and fuel system. Apparently, everything checks out.

As you can see in the two official photos released by the manufacturer (the first two in the gallery), the F-16 does not wear the markings of the U.S. Air Force (USAF). That’s because it's not meant for the USAF, but for the Kingdom of Bahrain, which back in 2018 ordered 16 such brand new aircraft.

The one that flew this week is the first of the batch and packs all the goodies Block 70 comes with.

First up, there’s a new Northrop Grumman radar, capable of giving the 4th gen F-16 5th gen capabilities, including quicker all-weather targeting and target area details. Then, a new Center Pedestal Display (CPD) offers color-moving maps, larger air-to-air Situation Displays, zoom, and a color/night helmet-mounted display, among others.

A new Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS) is on deck to prevent controlled flight into terrain, which basically means when pilots unintentionally fly into the ground for whatever reason. This is one of the most common accident causes for fighter pilots, with Lockheed Martin data showing 26 percent of F-16 aircraft losses and 75 percent of F-16 pilot fatalities are caused by this.

Last but not least, the new F-16s come with 12,000 hours of structural life, 50 percent more than the previous version.

At the time of writing, says Lockheed, there’s no telling when the entire fleet of Bahrain-bound F-16s will be ready. The company says six other countries have chosen this variant of the aircraft, and when taking those into account, production backlog is at 148 units.
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Editor's note: Gallery shows other F1-6s.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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