The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $250.4 million contract to support Morocco's current fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of this possible sale Thursday, which includes sustainment, support equipment, spare parts, training and related items of the aircraft for the Royal Moroccan Air Force.

Morocco's government has requested a continuation of sustainment support through the foreign military sales program.

"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a major Non-NATO ally that is an important force for political stability and economic progress in North Africa," DSCA said in a news release.

The agency said the proposed sale will improve Morocco's self-defense capability, as well as continue to strengthen the interoperability with the United States and other regional allies but it will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

In March, the State Department approved for Morocco the purchase of 25 F-16C/D Block 72s and upgrades of its existing 23 F‑16s to the more advanced F‑16V block 52+ configuration. The deal is worth $4.9 billion.

Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor of the F-16, which is commonly called "Viper" by pilots and crews because it looks like a viper snake, according to F-16.net.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact and multi-role fighter aircraft that is highly maneuverable, according to the Air Force. General Dynamics, which is now owned by Lockheed Martin, designed the F-16. A single-seat model first flew in December 1976.

The F-16B is a two-seat model with tandem cockpits that are about the same size as the one in the A model.

The United States, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway jointly produced an initial 348 F-16s for their air forces.

The consortium, which now includes Portugal, assembles the F100 engine used in the European F-16s. Final airframe assembly lines are in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Climate impacts of airplane contrails could triple by 2050
Washington (UPI) Jun 27, 2019
Under certain conditions, airplane contrails become contrail cirrus, icy clouds that trap the sun's heat and warms the planet. New research suggests the climate impact of airplane contrails, largely ignored until now, could triple by 2050. When contrails become clouds, they throw off the balance of Earth's radiation budget, triggering radiative forcing, whereby more of the sun's energy is absorbed by Earth's atmosphere and less is radiated back into space. Air traffic accounted for 5 per ... read more