The two newest F-16 models, which incorporate some of the technologies and lessons learned from the F/A-22 and F-35 programs, are the Block 60 model for the United Arab Emirates and the advanced Block 50/52. Lockheed Martin officials say these models represent the state of the art in fourth-generation fighters. “We have essentially re-invented the F-16 three times,” Ralph Heath, VP for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, commented. There’s no way to make an F-16 into an F-35, though, because very low observeability has to be designed into an aircraft at the outset. If the F-16 could have been reworked to make it comparable to the F-35, “we would have,” he said.
In written testimony to the Senate, the nominee to oversee the Air Force’s installations and energy enterprise endorsed the continued privatization of military housing and called for the department to think more during the acquisition process about how it will power new weapons systems when the logistics supply chain is…
