BAE wins USAF contract to support international F-16 fleet

BAE Systems has won a contract from the US Air Force (USAF) to supply support equipment for the international F-16 fleet aircraft.

The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract received from the USAF is worth up to $600m.

Under the ten-year contract, BAE will provide training, engineering support, as well as specialised test equipment.

The company will also deliver 1,200 support equipment items to ensure the availability of the F-16 multi-role fighter jets fleet.

Support equipment development and management work will be executed at the company’s Fort Worth site in Texas, US.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multi-role fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin. More than 2,000 F-16 jets are in service with the USAF and over 2,500 are operational with 25 other countries.

BAE Systems Mission Systems director Meg Redlin said: “BAE Systems is a world leader in developing specialised test system products for the F-16.

“We also manage the full complement of support equipment required to ensure availability of the aircraft for the US Air Force and allied forces.

“Our test product and support team ensures that all variants of this critical fighter are maintained through its lifecycle, optimising operations.”

The latest contract will ensure support equipment for the F-16 aircraft fleet in more than 25 countries until 2031.

It will see BAE Systems enhance aircraft supportability, reduce the logistics footprint, and minimise lifecycle cost.

BAE Systems is a provider of the I-level avionics test systems and supports the USM-464/638 for the USAF and other F-16 international users.

So far, BAE has delivered over 100,000 support equipment and test systems.

Last month, BAE Systems began low-rate initial production (LRIP) of an advanced electronic warfare system for the USAF F-15 aircraft.