The Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) is set to receive the first four of 24 block 52 F-16 fighter jets later this week.

The first aircraft is carrying the registration 80001, and is the first of 18 single-seat block 52 F-16Cs on order for the RMAF.

The jets, which have left the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas, US, are powered by Pratt & Whitney F100-229 turbofan engines.

The US has trained the first batch of Moroccan F-16 pilots under a 15-month training course that finished in June this year.

The RMAF is also slated to field 24 T-6C basic trainers with the manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft already reaching the half-way point in handing over the aircraft.