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UAE requests Block 61 F-16s, and upgrades to Block 60 fighters
Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
27 January 2014
The UAE has requested the sale of 30 new F-16 Block 61 fighters, as well as upgrades to its existing Block 60 (pictured) fleet. Source: IHS/Patrick Allen
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested the sale of the Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 61 combat aircraft from the United States as well as upgrades to its existing Block 60 fleet, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) disclosed on 23 January.
The proposed direct commercial sale is for 30 Block 61 aircraft, as well as upgrades to the 79 F-16E/F Block 60 Desert Falcons listed in the UAE Air Force & Air Defence (UAE AF & AD) inventory. Associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support are also included.
While the DSCA notification to Congress lists the estimated cost of the deal at USD270 million, this will likely be for the associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support, with the new-build aircraft and upgrade work costing significantly more.
The DSCA has specified some aircraft equipment, but that listed is common to most F-16 variants and the notification does not identify the components that make a Block 61 aircraft. Lockheed Martin declined to comment on the new Block 61 configuration, while a Department of Defense (DoD) official would only reveal that the new standard features enhanced radar, avionics, and weapons capabilities.
The most noticeable feature of the Block 60 already fielded by the UAE is the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-80 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. As this is no longer produced, it is likely that the Block 61 features a new radar type; either the Northrop Grumman scalable agile beam radar (SABR) or Raytheon advanced combat radar (RACR).
Other Block 60-specific equipment includes an internal Northrop Grumman AN/AAQ-32 forward looking infrared (FLIR) navigation and targeting system, a 'glass' cockpit featuring three colour liquid crystal displays with a picture-in-picture and moving map capability, a new core avionics suite, a digital fuel management system, higher-capacity environmental control system, new air data system, and expanded digital flight control system with additional automatic modes such as terrain following. In addition to this variant-specific equipment, the Block 60 also features the conformal fuel tanks and dorsal avionics compartment carried over from the Block 50/52 aircraft.
The DoD declined to tell
IHS Jane's whether the upgraded Block 60 aircraft would be brought up to the same standard as the Block 61, but the new designation of Block 60+ for these modernised platforms would suggest not.
Regarding talk of the UAE looking to source these aircraft through a direct commercial sale, the DoD explained that some of its "more sophisticated customers" can choose to go down this route, as opposed to the more standard Foreign Military Sales method of procurement.
News of the additional F-16s for the UAE first surfaced in April 2013 when US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that 25 new Block 60 aircraft would be delivered for USD5 billion, although in November Lockheed Martin officials told
IHS Jane's that no contract for these aircraft had been signed.
Separately, the UAE has been looking to replace its 43 ageing Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters. Having sought information from Eurofighter for the Typhoon and Boeing for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet (Dassault's Rafale, which had previously been set to secure the requirement was not included in the requests for information), the UAE dismissed the Typhoon on cost grounds in December. The emirate has not clarified whether the Super Hornet is still being considered, or, with the additional F-16s now requested, if the requirement has now been put on hold entirely.
