Bethesda. The US government has awarded an initial $187 million for long-lead tasks as part of a $1.1 billion contract to Lockheed Martin for the production of 30 new Advanced Block 50 F-16 aircraft for Turkey.

“The aircraft we will deliver to Turkey will join the fleet of over 4,300 F-16s representing 24 nations,” said John Larson, vice president, Lockheed Martin F-16 programs.

Earlier this year, the governments of Turkey and the United States signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) agreeing to the purchase of 30 Block 50 F-16s.

The new aircraft will supplement the Turkish Air Force’s (TUAF) existing fleet of F-16s and contribute to the upgrade and modernization of the TUAF. The new aircraft include the same advanced systems being installed on Turkey’s existing F-16 fleet as part of an on-going upgrade program. At the conclusion of these two programs all Turkish F-16s will be in a common, state-of-the-art configuration. The final Turkish F-16 under this contract will be delivered in 2013.