Lockheed Martin's Greenville campus gets $62B boost with latest F-16 contract [View all]

A recent $62 billion contract to build 90 F-16 fighter jets is being touted as an important win for Lockheed Martin’s campus in Greenville, which had just a handful of planes left in its order book after losing a bid in 2018 to build a next-generation trainer jet for the U.S. Air Force.

Aerospace analyst Dhierin Bechai said the order — 66 jets for Taiwan’s military and 24 for the Royal Moroccan Air Force — provides “significant chances for follow up orders for more fighter jets and services.”

The jets will be built over a 10-year period.

“A year ago the backlog for the F-16 was just 30 units and we are now seeing the F-16 backlog being increased by 90 units with possibly more to come in the future strengthening the franchise,” he said in a Seeking Alpha report.

The contract also strengthens America’s grip in the Taiwan-China region, where tensions have erupted over Taiwan’s status as an independent democratic state. China considers Taiwan a rogue, island province that should be reunified with the mainland. The U.S. supports Taiwan’s independence.

Read more: https://www.postandcourier.com/business/lockheed-martins-greenville-campus-gets-62b-boost-with-latest-f-16-contract/article_a9255e64-eeb1-11ea-b804-7b2278f109b0.html