USAF to overhaul F-16 Block 40 to 50 wings
Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
05 May 2015
The USAF is to overhaul the wings on 136 of its Block 40 to 50 F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft. Source: US Air Force
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a request for information (RfI) to overhaul the wings of its Block 40 to 50 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft.
The RfI was issued on 30 April and covers 136 aircraft. Work is set to run from fiscal year (FY) 2019 through to FY 2025.
According to the solicitation, responses are required by 1400 h local time on 1 June 2015.
The US Air Force (USAF) currently operates more than 1,000 F-16C/D aircraft of Block 40/42/50/52 configurations. With initial operating capability for its F-35A Lightning II successor not due to be declared until late 2016, and full operating capability not expected to follow until around 2022, the USAF is looking to upgrade around 350 of its F-16s under a service-life extension programme (SLEP).
In early 2014 the USAF requested that FY 2015 funds earmarked for the Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite (CAPES) upgrade be diverted to the SLEP instead. At that time, Secretary of the USAF Deborah Lee James said that "tough [financial] choices" had to be made on sustaining the F-16 fleet. |
发表于 2015-5-7 13:31
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