Lockheed Martin Awarded $1.2 Billion to Upgrade the South Korean F-16 Falcons

[Zain Malik]

The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics a contract worth over US$1.2 Billion for the upgrading of 134 South Korean F-16 fighters.

The Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) plans to upgrade both the F-16C/D Block 50/52 fighter aircraft with brand new radar and avionics suite. The contracr negotiated is a fixed-price incentive-fee contract, managed under the foreign military sales program expected to cost about $2.5 Billion. The work will be performed by Lockheed Martin at ots Firt Worth TX plant. The upgrading is scheduled to complete in nine years, (November 2025).

Seoul initially picked BAE Systems for this upgrade, but in November 2014 terminated that contract following major price increased that incurred during the development phase, before the program reached production.

A year later, in December 2015 South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) announced the formal selection of the original aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin to upgrade these Korean F-16s.

The main subcontractors for the program are Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-83 scalable agile beam radar. Other avionics include the Modular Mission Computer (MMC). This single high-performance computer replaces the fighter jet’s three original computers, to deliver enhanced computing power to the aircraft’s avionics and weapon systems.

Other avionic systems being upgraded include the JHMCS II helmet cueing display system, IFF, self protection, networking, and armament modernization.

The total program worth $2.5 billion also covers new weapons integration including GBU-39 small diameter bonbs, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and laser JDAM.