The F-16 Block 70 could do a great job in the Ukraine and probably never will – but it still has very much a global footprint, as Jon Lake reports
The latest and most advanced variant of the F-16 to date, the Block 70/72, completed its maiden flight earlier this year at Lockheed Martin’s Greenville facility in South Carolina. This F-16 Block 70 was a two-seater, the first of 16 aircraft intended for the Royal Bahraini Air Force. For its first flight on January 24, 2023 the aircraft was crewed by Lockheed Martin test pilots Dwayne ‘Pro’ Opella and Monessa ‘Siren’ Balzhiser. The 50-minute flight included a preliminary look at basic aircraft handling and allowed the crew to conduct a series of airworthiness checks, including engine, flight control and fuel systems.
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