In fresh blow to Eurofighter, US touts possible F-16 sale to

maddog65 · Post by **maddog65** » 04 Aug 2010, 11:28

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... le-to.html

In fresh blow to Eurofighter, US touts possible F-16 sale to Oman
By Stephen Trimble

US defence officials have confirmed that Oman has asked for a potential sale of 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 50/52s fighters for $3.5 billion in a move that dampens the UK government's hopes to offload a batch of new Eurofighter Typhoons.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) informed Congress on 3 August that the Royal Air Force of Oman is seeking a "possible" F-16 purchase, which is most likely aimed at replacing 16 Sepecat Jaguars.

The announcement comes five years after Oman purchased a batch of 12 F-16 Block 50s, which are powered by the General Electric F110-GE-129 engine.

The DSCA says the potential second batch of F-16s could be Block 50s or Block 52s. The latter is powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine. The deal also would include the ITT advanced integrated defence electronic warfare suites (AIDEWS) and Northrop Grumman APG-68(V)9 radar.

If the contract is signed, Oman would give Lockheed a fresh boost in the region as the manufacturer seeks to close more F-16 deals with Qatar and Iraq.

But a contract signing for F-16s would mark a surprise reversal for the UK government, which indicated only four months ago that a Typhoon sale in Muscat could be imminent.

UK officials hope to offload Typhoons that the government is committed to buying in Tranche 3 of the Eurofighter programme.

Meanwhile, the F-16 programme remains in demand despite the arrival in six years of its successor the F-35A. On 20 July, Lockheed officials noted the F-16 has a firm backlog of 86 F-16s, including 20 fighters recently ordered as part of Egypt's sixth follow-on order.

The production line in Fort Worth, Texas, is expected to continue through 2013, with new deals possibly extending the programme for several years beyond, Lockheed says.

As a member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Oman has joined a regional arms race as tensions with Iran escalate across the Strait of Hormuz.