Air Force
Morocco’s first F-16 Block 72 makes its maiden flight
Lockheed Martin has announced the first flight of the first F-16 Block 72 for the Royal Moroccan Air Force. The aircraft now continues flight testing ahead of its first delivery, for which no date has been given.
The first F-16 Block 72 destined for the Royal Moroccan Air Force has made its maiden flight, Lockheed Martin announced on Tuesday, October 6. The aircraft is now continuing the flight tests that precede its first delivery. The announcement gives no delivery date.
The Block 72 is the newest production variant of the F-16, with modernized avionics, advanced sensors and improved mission systems, along with enhanced safety and reliability features, as the company describes it. A key element of the variant is the AN/APG-83 SABR active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the same one carried by Greece’s upgraded F-16V fighters. Mike Shoemaker, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Integrated Fighter Group, called the flight “a critical step in strengthening Morocco’s future airpower.”
The 2019 approval
The acquisition goes back to March 2019, when the United States approved the sale of 25 new F-16C/D Block 72 aircraft to Morocco at an estimated cost of $3.8 billion. At the same time it approved the upgrade of the 23 F-16 Block 52+ fighters the country already operates to the F-16V standard, for $985 million, according to notifications from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The published text of the notification for the new aircraft includes Pratt & Whitney F100-229 engines, the same type that powers Morocco’s existing F-16s. The engine is also what separates the Block 72 from the Block 70, which uses the General Electric F110.
Lockheed Martin’s presence in Morocco
Lockheed Martin says its partnership with Morocco spans more than 50 years, beginning with the delivery of the first C-130H transport in 1974. The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces now operate the company’s F-16s, C-130s, radars and Black Hawk helicopters, and are due to receive HIMARS launchers.
The company says it is supporting Moroccan industry through partnerships such as the one with Maintenance Aero Maroc. A maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility of more than 8,000 square meters is being prepared at Benslimane. It is designed to handle heavy maintenance and modernization of C-130 Hercules aircraft at first, with plans to expand to platforms including the F-16.
The first flight of the Moroccan aircraft comes days after the arrival of the first two F-16V Block 70 fighters in Taiwan on October 2.
