Lockheed wins F-16 FMS deal worth up to $62 billion

The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a first-of-its-kind indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to sell foreign militaries commoditized F-16 fighter jets off the latest Block 70 production line.

The Pentagon announced the deal, which is worth up to $62 billion over 10 years, on Aug. 14, which Inside Defense reported prior to the award.

The initial delivery order is valued at $4.9 billion for 90 F-16s -- including both the pre-priced core configuration costs at $2.9 billion and modifications worth up to $2.1 billion.

The contract notice did not identify the customers of this initial order but Inside Defense reported in April that Morocco and Taiwan were expected to be the inaugural partner nations to sign on to the IDIQ vehicle. The State Department last year approved Morocco to buy 25 F-16s for $3.8 billion and Taiwan to buy 66 F-16s for $8 billion.

The purpose of the new contract is to offer potential customers a faster and more affordable standardized option to purchase the advanced fourth-generation fighters.

"We simplified the aircraft ordering process and standardized the basic aircraft configuration to rapidly respond to clear demand from our partners around the world for the most advanced F-16s ever built," Col. Tim Bailey, the Air Force's F-16 program manager, told Inside Defense. "We look forward to delivering hundreds of Block 70/72s out of Greenville, South Carolina for many years to come."