The Hellenic Air Force (HAF) has welcomed the arrival of its tenth F-16V Fighting Falcon, following the multi-role fighter’s upgrade from the F-16C/D Block 52+/52M-standard to the new, more advanced ‘Viper’ configuration.
The delivery of Greece’s tenth F-16V (serial unknown) was announced by Lockheed Martin and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) on August 3. In total, 83 HAF-operated F-16C/D Block 52+/52Ms are being upgraded to the new F-16V-standard in a process that is expected to be completed by 2027. Greece initially announced plans to upgrade 84 airframes to the ‘Viper’ configuration as part of a $1.5bn eight-year programme in October 2017, though an attrition loss later reduced this total to 83 aircraft.
With guidance and support from Lockheed Martin in Greece and the US, the associated aircraft upgrade work is actively being carried out in-country by HAI. The Greek firm announced it had completed its first ‘Viper’ upgrade on January 17, 2021, and intends to upgrade 12 F-16C/Ds to the new standard per year. The HAF received its first two upgraded F-16Vs (serials 06-0005 and 06-0006) on September 12, 2022, when the two fighters arrived at Tanagra Air Base. Six more airframes were expected to follow before the end of last year.
One key change in this upgrade programme is the addition of the AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), which replaces the F-16C/D Block 52+/52M’s initial AN/APG-68(V)9 pulse-Doppler radar system. In addition to this, the HAF’s new F-16Vs will also be fitted with an AN/APX-126 Advanced Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) system; a Link-16 tactical datalink; Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) II; full Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS); a new Embedded GPS/INS (EGI); a modern, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based avionics subsystem; a high-volume, high-speed data bus and the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS). The upgraded F-16Vs will also be provided with an ability to carry Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) and Reconnaissance (RECCE) pods to help enhance the HAF’s strike and reconnaissance capabilities.
