The US Air Force and Royal Moroccan Air Force have expanded their bilateral relationship with the RMAF’s purchase of 24 new F-16 Block 52 aircraft, along with training, and support equipment, according to USAF officials. The Pentagon notified Congress of the pending sale Dec. 18, 2007. USAF said that RMAF agreed to the transaction March 12 and expects the RMAF to begin operations with its new F-16s in mid-2011. Under the terms of the deal, a USAF instructor pilot will train RMAF fliers in Morocco. Lockheed Martin officials last fall said they believe the F-16 production line would continue for some time, even as the F-35 production ramps up at the company’s Fort Worth production facility, because of continuing international orders.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.